


In The Time Of Angel

by Deathraptor22



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Action, Drama, F/M, Fantsasy, Gen, Multi, Other, Sam Completed The Hell Trails, Sam Is A Reluctant Leader But Is Good At It, Season 9 AU, Semi-Functional Family, angel politics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2019-04-06 23:57:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 51
Words: 70,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14068389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deathraptor22/pseuds/Deathraptor22
Summary: Season 9 AU. Sam completes the Hell Tails, but instead dying he turns into an angel. Now there are less demons to deal with, but a rapidly growing Team Free will must contend with thousands of fallen angels as one of them own contends with his new life.





	1. Heaven's Got A New Angel

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural. If you recognize it, assume it's not mine.

Part 1: The Assention   
Dean had to get to Sam. Get to him before he finished the third trail.   
"If Sam's complete those trails, he is going to die." Naomi's wrongs echoed through Dean's head in a never-ending chant as he ran towards the church.   
Dean burst through the church door just as Sam jabbed another thing of blood into Crowley's arm. Startled, Sam turned at the noise, clearly on edge.  
Dean raised his hands and slowly walked over to Sam saying, "Easy there. Okay, just take it easy. We got a slight change in plans."  
"What?" Sam began, confused, "What's going on? Where's-" Suddenly Sam started gagging as a yellowish light glowed from his arms showing his veins. Dean took a step closer. Dean wasn't sure what was happening, but he had to help Sam, somehow.  
"Dean, don't!" Sam demanded in fear for his brother's safety, "Don't!"  
Suddenly the ground started to shake. "What the Hell is that?!" Dean shouted.   
"I think that's-"Sam began, "I think that's exactly what it is. I think that's gates of Hell closing."  
"You idiots," Crowley grumbled from the chain he chained to, "Of course that's what it is."  
Dean's heart sunk. "No," He said, shaking his head, "No."  
"Dean, what are you-" Sam's voice trailed off as he screamed in pain and his upper body jutted, as if he'd been hit in the spine, and a bright white light began to emanate from his body. Sam could a strange power crossing through him, a power he had never felt before.  
"I'm sorry, Sam," Dean said, tears streaming down his face, "Metatron lied. I'm so sorry."  
An urgent feeling passed through Sam and suddenly he was screaming, "Dean, shut your eyes! I don't know why, just-do okay!"  
"Dean, I think you ought to do what he says," Crowley added, shutting his own eyes.  
"Dean please!" Sam managed to scream before his words turned to screams of agony.  
Dean closed his eyes because this was Sammy's dying wish damn it, the fierce shaking of the ground and his own shock sending him to his knees. There was a finial scream from Sam and the sound of wood crashing and then silence.  
Dean slowly opened his eyes. The shaking had stopped, but the pews around him had been turned to planks of timber, and if he looked out the now completely glassless windows he would have saw thousands upon thousands of angels falling from the heavens. He might have also seen one, one lone light, rising up in a choppy, frantic motion, as if it had no idea what it was doing. But as if was, Dean had no clue what was going on outside the windows, nor did he care. He was focused one sole thing in that room.  
Sam was gone. Not just dead, there wasn't even a body. It was as if he had never been there.  
"No!" Dean shouted, punching the floor with both fist.   
"Dean," Crowley spoke up, too stunned by the spectacle to even think to mock or to use his usual sarcastic snarky tone, "Maybe you should calm down."  
"Shut up!" Dean seethed, "Just shut up! Don't you-don't dare. Don't you there tell me to calm down!"  
Dean spent the next half hour like that, screaming and pounding every surface he could get to, until he was horse and his knuckles were busted open, pouring blood. Then he fell over in a state of near catatonia.  
He didn't even notice the doors open and steps of footsteps walking in, or Crowley saying, "Well, it's about time you showed up. And who's the girl?"  
"Silence, demon," A strange voice, a female voice said. Dean barely registered it.  
He also barely registered Cas' voice saying "He's not a demon anymore." Then crouching over him, whispering "Oh Dean..."  
He grabbed Dean at his side and sat him upright. "Go unchain Crowley," He instructed his female counter part, a dark haired young woman, as he healed Dean’s right hand.  
"But-"The girl began to protest.  
"Just trust me," Cas responded.  
The girl ran off to do what Cas said.  
"He's gone, Cas," Dean moaned, as Castiel began on the other hand, "Sammy's gone. He's dead. I couldn't get here in time."  
"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Cas replied, finishing with the hands.  
"What the Hell does that mean?" Dean asked, pulling away a little.  
Castiel paused for a moment, as if trying to think of how to explain. "Alright, Dean," He said at last, sitting across from the hunter, "This is going to be really hard to explain, we're not actually sure what's going on ourselves, but please, just listen." He took a deep breath and said, "I'm not Cas. Well, Cas is in here too, he's just not the one-at the wheel in the moment."  
"What the Hell does that mean?" Dean responded, confused, which was making annoyed on top of everything else.  
"Dean, I know this is gonna be hard to believe but," Cas began, "I'm Sam."  
Dean's mouth fell open. "What?"  
"Due to a spell Cas turned into a human," Sam/Cas explained, "And somehow, we're not exactly sure, I turned into an angel."


	2. Lost Angels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened to Sam after he left the church.

Longmont Colorado  
Thirty Minutes Earlier   
Castiel walked solemnly down the road, listening to the voices in his head. Voices of lost, confused frightened fallen angels, thousands of them. Suddenly one stood out among the sea of noise. "What's happening...what's going on, where am I?"  
At first Castiel thought it was just another angel, a familiar one, perhaps one he knew, but still just another angel, when the voice said, "Dean!"  
Cas stopped in tracks. "Sam?" He said aloud.   
Suddenly he heard the sound of tires screeching on rubber. He leapt out of the way, landing on the gravel. He was surprised by the stinging in his hands. He looked at his bloody palm as a voice behind him said, "Hey buddy, you okay?"  
"It's hurts," Cas mused still looking at his hand.  
"What the Hell you doing in the middle of the road like that?" The driver of the truck who almost hit him, a man with stringy hair and a beard, asked.  
"I heard angels," Cas answered, as if it was a normal answer, "I thought I heard the voice of a friend of mine, which wouldn't have been odd expect, this friend is human."  
Concerned, the man responded with "How about we get you some water hmm?"  
"I, uh, I don't drink water," Castiel replied.  
"Dehydration's a real bitch up here, mister," The man said, coming to the conclusion that this was the reason for the strange behavior.  
As the voice that might or might not be Sam rang out in his head again, Cas realized he needed to talk to Dean to see what happened, and said urgently, "A phone. Do you have a phone?"  
"No signal up here," The man replied, "How about a lift, hmm?"  
"Yes." Cas said, "Good. I would fly, but-I have no wings, not anymore."  
"Right," The man said slowly. He had a feeling this was going to be a long day.  
During the drive, Castiel became more and more focused on maybe Sam's voice. It was so desperate, so frightened, maybe even more so than all the others, than at last he couldn't take it anymore. He bowed his head and started to pray, starting with one word, "Sam? Sam, is that you?"  
Apparently, somehow, the voice heard him through all the madness. "Cas?" The voice said, "Cas, is that you?"  
"Yes," Cas replied, "It's me. Where-where are you?"  
"I don't know," Sam answered, panicked, "I was with Dean and Crowley in the church, and then Dean was trying to tell me something and suddenly, I was-in pain, really bad, and I started, this light started coming that of me and I felt-"  
"Go on Sam," Cas encouraged in a hush whisper as his host was starting to eye him strangely," Felt what?"  
"This-this power,” Sam said, "It wasn't like anything I felt before and I was scared that-that I might hurt Dean. And then, suddenly I'm not in the church anymore and I don't really feel...I don't know, solid, I guess. And there are all these other-things here and I don't know what they are, and I don't know where we are, and I don't even know how I'm hearing you..."  
As Sam went on, an idea formed in Castiel's mind. But, no, it wasn't possible. Was it? The fact was that Sam clearly wasn't in his body anymore and if the rumbling earlier was any indication had shut the gates of Hell, and what he was describing really sounded like-  
"Sam," Cas interrupted, almost forgetting to whisper, "I think I know what happened to you."  
"Then tell me, Cas!" Sam cried out in Cas' mind.  
"I think, somehow," Castiel began, not quite believing what he was about to say, "That you've turned into an angel."  
There was a moment of silence in Castiel's head.  
"Sam?" He asked.  
Just then the pick-up truck stopped across the street from a gas station. "Here you go," The man said.  
Castiel got out, but before he could go much further the man said, "Hey," holding out a handful of bills.  
"No, I can't take your money," Castiel tried to politely decline.  
"For the phone," The man explained, "And a sandwich if they got one."  
"It's okay," Castiel reassured him, "I don't eat."  
"You'll figure something out," The man replied, refusing to go until the strange hitchhiker had taken the cash, "Hmm?"  
Castiel gave in and took the bills and some change.  
"Take care kid," The man said, before driving off.  
As he walked across the street Castiel prayed, "Sam? Are you still there?"  
"Yeah," Sam said, 'I was just a little shocked. Actually no, I was a lot shocked, and I still am, and confused. How can I have become an angel? I mean, is that even possible?"  
"Normally I would say no," Castiel said, " There's no precedent for it, but I have no other explanation for what's happening. Naomi told Dean that finishing the trails would kill you, but I suppose she could've been lying, or misinterpreted the information she extracted from Metatron. Either way, what you're describing isn't a spirit, and does sound like an angel out of its vessel."  
"Well, what do I do about it?" Sam asked, "I have to get to Dean and tell him I'm not dead, and honestly I'm not sure how much more of this I can take!"  
"Alright, calm down," Castiel urged, "I have an idea. It appears...Metatron took my grace and now it appears I'm human."  
"What?" Sam exclaimed.  
"Don't worry about that," Cas said quickly, "I think we can use it to our advantage. Since I was in my vessel when it happened I should still, in theory, be able to hold in angel. You just need to possess me long enough to get you to Dean and we can figure out a permanent arrangement."  
"Like what?" Sam asked.  
"Anna was able to get her human body back after it was destroyed," Cas reminded him, "I'm sure we can figure out what she did and do the same for you. "  
"And if you're wrong and you're still an angel?" Sam asked.  
"Well, let's just hope I'm right," Cas replied, "I’m at a gas station in Longmont, Colorado."  
"Well that narrows it down," Sam said sarcastically.   
While Castiel was waiting for Sam to find him-and made a note to teach him about being an angel once they got this all sorted-a young woman in blue dress with black leggings and yellow sweater walked up to him and said, "I know you."  
"I don't think so," Cas replied.  
The woman was about to speak when a bright light shown down on Castiel. "Hold on a second miss," He said, "That's a friend of mine, I promised to give him a lift."  
"Uh, Cas," Sam said, "What do I do now?"  
"Just...enter me," Cas replied, "I already gave my consent, you should be able to."  
"I don't know how!" Sam snapped.  
"Yes, you do," Cas urged, " It'll be instinctual, just...focus."  
Within a few seconds Cas could feel Sam's presence coming inside him. Soon, he couldn't see or hear. Then, he could again, but found he couldn't control his body.   
Because Sam had taken the wheel.  
"Whoa," Was that first thing that came out of Sam's mouth in his new host body, "This is weird. This is really weird." Though he supposed he was going to have to get use to it, though. He couldn't see a way back. It was then he took notice of the confused girl in front of him-or them, or whatever-and also noticed something Castiel had overlooked.  
"Hey!" Sam exclaimed, surprised he recognized her for what she was, almost like he had a sixth sense about it, "You're an angel!"  
"Am I?" The girl angel question, "What's an angel without its wings?" After moment she added, "How did you keep yours intact anyway?"  
That was the first time Sam had been aware of the weight on his back. He had been too panicked to notice it before, but yes, he did have wings now. But another part of the female angel's statement worried her. "What do you mean how did I keep mine intact?"   
"I just thought all the angels' wings had been destroyed during the fall," The angel answered.  
"Still a little lost here," Sam said.  
"The fall,” She repeated, "How do you not know what I'm talking about?" She was starting to wonder if maybe instead of losing his wings, this angel's mind had gone instead.  
Suddenly, Castiel's voice pushed into Sam's mind. "Metatron lied. Those weren't the Heaven trails but a spell to banish all the angels from Heaven." For whatever reason that must had been too much for Cas, because he didn't say anything else.  
"Oh," Sam said, everything finally clicking into place, "I think I can explain the reason for the confusion."  
And so, Sam spent the next ten minutes explaining to the angel, Hael, her named to turned out to be, what happened from his side.  
"So, when you finished the Hell Trials you transformed into an angel," Hael said, making sure she had this all strait," And Castiel lost his grace and volunteered to be your vessel and that's when I recognized him and walked up to him."  
"That's basically it," Sam said.  
"That explains why you have wings," Hael said, "While the rest of us were falling you were rising." After a second, she added softly, "I'm actually a little jealous."   
Sam looked at the girl and felt a pang of pity. He reached out a hand to her, lifting her head up, intending to offer promises that they could figure this out, when he saw a thing brown line, just popping up above her sweater. He pulled the sweater back and saw a large spreading bruise on her shoulder. "What the-?" Sam began, "Hael, did someone hurt you?"  
Her eyes moved to the bruise, then back to Sam. "Oh, no, it's nothing like that," She replied, "It's my vessel. She's not very strong, and she won't be able to hold me much longer. Honestly, if I had known Castiel was human I'd probably see if he'd merge with me."  
"Come with me," Sam offered, "Me and my brother- we have this bunker you see, and it's filled with information about every kind of supernatural thing on the planet. There's bound to be something about fixing an angel's vessel."  
Seeing no other options, Hael replied, "Alright."  
"First though we need to find Dean," Sam replied, "Tell him what's going on." He turned to look at the wings on his back. They were dark brown, with deep crimson and gold mixed in. "How do I use these things?"  
"It's very simple, really," Hael said, standing up. Sam stood up with her. She took him by the hand instructing, "Just focus on where you want to go, and flap your wings."  
Sam focused on the church, picturing it in his mind. Then he gave his new wings a great flap, and they were gone.


	3. Devil May Care After All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team regroups at the bunker. As Kevin helps Hael, Crowley doesn't take his new-found humanity well, which prompts an unexpected rescue mission.

"So, let me get this strait," Dean said, trying to sort out all the information that had been thrown at him, the shock wearing off somewhat, "You turned into an angel so you possessed Cas and that's how you met this girl?"  
"Yeah," Sam replied, "That's basically about it."  
There was a moment of silence, then Sam added, "So, what now?"  
"Well, I think the first thing we need to do is get back to the bunker, figure out a way to get you back into your body, then find a way to deal with the thousands of lose nukes running around." Dean replied.  
"Lose nukes?" Hael asked, looking confused.  
"He's mean you, love." Crowley spoke up, "Or your people at least. Angels."  
Hael was confused again. "Why would you have to deal with us?"  
"Because you guys are extremely dangerous and we can't have you all running lose around the planet?" Dean replied.  
Seeing the angry look flashing across Hael’s face, Sam quickly intervened, changing the subject. "Okay, before we do any of that I think we need to figure out something with Crowley. I mean, he's human, so we can't exactly kill him now."  
"Why not?" Hael asked.  
"Because killing humans is wrong." Sam said slowly as if talking to a child.  
"But he's killed hundreds of humans," Hael pointed out, "That was wrong of him, wasn't it?"  
"You know I'm right here." Crowley called out.  
"Tell it to someone who cares," Dean shot back, "But you gotta admit, kid has a point."  
Despite being agreed with, Hael looked annoyed. The deteriorating thing aside, the only other complaint Hael had was that she wished she looked older.  
"You know what," Dean said, "Why don't we just take him back with us, then we'll figure it all out from there?"  
Dean insisted on taking the Impala because otherwise they would have to leave it behind, and he didn't trust Sam's flying skills. He went in first while Sam and Hael got Crowley and was greeted by an arrow flying across the room in his general direction, getting stuck in a handrail a few feet in front.  
"The Hell?" Dean wondered aloud.  
Kevin stood up from behind a barricade of books and a turned over table, holding a crossbow. "Dean?" The young prophet asked, "You're alive!"  
"Yeah," Dean replied, " 'Cause you're a lousy shot, Katniss."  
"Sorry." Kevin said sincerely, "It's been a bad couple of days. I-I haven't slept, or eaten, I'm pretty backed up."  
"Okay, over share." Dean responded.  
"After we talked, this place went nuts, alright?" Kevin began, "Th-there was some alarm, and all the machines were freaking out, and the bunker just locked down. I couldn't open the door, my cell phone stopped working, I thought the world was ending."  
"Close," Dean said, then after a beat, added, "The angels fell."  
"The...what does that mean?" Kevin asked.  
"Nothing good." Dean answering taking the crossbow from Kevin, "Listen, next time the world's ending, grab a gun."  
Dean put the crossbow on the table and started to walk away taking out his cell phone. "I got service."  
Kevin flipped the switch on the bunker's control table. The lights turned on and there was the sound of mechanics whirling into action.  
"It's back online." Kevin said, "Maybe when you opened the door from the outside door, it reset the system."  
"Yeah, okay, let's go with that." Dean replied, not having a clue what Dean was talking about.  
Sam and Hael entered with Crowley, who was handcuffed, blindfolded and had earmuffs covering his ears. Just because he wasn't a demon anymore didn't mean they wanted him to know where the bunker.   
"Hey." Sam said, "Everything good?"  
"Is it ever." Dean replied, "You two go put him up, I'll meet you in a little bit." Then he turned to Kevin who was looking confused and horrified. "Okay, cliff notes version, the Hell Trails turned Sam into an angel, the fall turned Cas into a human so Sam possessed him until we can figure something else out, and then he met this female angel whose vessel's deteriorating so we're helping her out with that, too."  
"And that was the pretty girl?" Kevin asked.  
"Really?" Dean deadpanned, "That's what you took from all that?"  
"No," Kevin began defensively, "I just-What's Crowley doing here?! Why isn't he dead?! Why aren't you stabbing him right now?!"  
"Alright, alright, chill out, Kevin, okay?" Dean replied, "He's human now, so that makes it a little harder to deal with, plus, we need to him to ferret out any demons he had topside at the time the gates closed."  
"And then?" Kevin asked.  
"We don't know yet," Dean replied, "But we do go the killing route, we'll hold him down while you knife him."  
"So now what?" Kevin asked.  
" I gotta make some phones call." Dean replied, "You can help Sam and Hael find something to help with their meatsuit issues, then we'll work from there."  
An hour and a half later, Hael was looking through the arcives when a voice behind her called, "Hey."  
She turned around and saw Kevin holding an ancient-looking leather book. "It's Hael, right?" He asked.  
"Yes." She replied.  
"I think I found something that might help with your-deteriorating problem." Kevin replied, "Come with me?"  
"Alright," Hael said apprehensively, but allowing herself to be lead by the hand to a nearby stack of books, where Kevin gestured for her to sit down, which she did.   
"Okay," Kevin said, glancing at the book, "It says here I need to put a hand on the afflicted area."  
Hael pulled down the clothing around her shoulder, revealing the bruised area.   
"Wow," Kevin said, "That's not good."  
As Kevin put his hand on the area Hael asked nervously, "Are you sure this spell is meant for humans to perform?"  
"They didn't exactly allow non-humans in the Men of Letters," Kevin replied, "So I think can assumed humans can do this spell." He hadn't considered that the Men of Letters main goal had been gathering knowledge, and therefore might have recorded the spell even if they couldn't use it.  
As Kevin chanted a string of enochian, the area under his hand began to glow. When the glowing subsided Kevin removed his hand, the pair found that not only was the bruising gone, it looked healthier than it had been before.   
"It worked!" Hael beamed in joy and surprise, "Kevin, you're amazing."  
Just then they were inturupted by the sound of clanging and crashing. They looked at each other and Kevin said, "I think it's coming from the dudgeon. Stay, here, I'll go check it out."  
"I'm coming with you," Hael responded, grabbing Kevin's wrist.  
"Look, he may be human now, but a few days ago that guy down there was the King of Hell." Kevin explained.  
"All the more reason for you not to go alone." Hael argued, "You're the prophet, it's my job to protect you."  
"Cause you guys have been doing such a great job with that." Kevin replied sarcastically.  
If looks could kill, the one the Hael gave Kevin would have stunned him dead.  
"Okay, how about a compromise?" Kevin suggested, "I go in first, and if you hear something up, you go get Sam and Dean and you all go in after me, okay?"  
Hael sighed. "All right."  
"Okay." Kevin said, then he ran down the hallway.  
When he got in the dudgeon, Kevin couldn't see Crowley. Thinking the ex-demon had somehow gotten free, he grabbed a hammer from the wall, prepared to fight, when he saw Crowley still strapped in the chair, sideways on the ground, trying to bite through the chains. "What are you doing?!" Kevin exchanged, not believing what he was seeing.  
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Crowley snapped back, "I'm trying to escape."  
Kevin felt a smirk slip onto his face. Something about seeing his old tormentor on the ground, so desperate, was very satisfying. "Gotta say," He began, "I didn't think this would be the route you'd take. I'd figure you'd try to make a deal, get the upper hand, or something."  
"That was my plan," Crowley admitted, "But then I started to get all these feelings, all this guilt for the things I've done. I mean the things I've done you alone-"  
"Like torturing me?" Kevin spat, "Killing my mom?"  
"Except that's the thing!" Crowley shouted, "I didn't! I just have her locked away somewhere for later, and now I feel terrible about that! And she's not even the only one. There's like, at least two others, I feel terrible about them, too! Oh, I couldn't I be one of those natural-born sociopaths?!"  
Taking a moment to get over the shock, Kevin bent down, saying, "If you feel so bad about it, then you'll tell me where she is." After a moment he added, "And those other people you mentioned, too."  
Sam and Dean were in the main area of the bunker Dean on the phone and Sam looking through some books, when Kevin came bounding down the stairs shouting, "My mom's alive!"  
There was a moment of silence then Dean said into the phone, "Yeah, Irv, I'm going to have to call you back. Good luck." After hanging up the phone he said, "What?"  
"Okay, so I was with Hael," Kevin started again, "And we heard this noise from the dudgeon and I went to down to see what it was and Crowley had knocked over his chair trying to escape." Seeing the alarmed looks on the Winchester's faces, he added, "Don't worry, he's still down there. He started going on about feeling bad about all the things he's done, and he mentioned that my mom's alive."  
"And he just gave you this information for free?" Dean asked skeptically.  
"Well, after he let it slip he tried to make a deal for us to let him go," Heal spoke up, "But after a little prodding he told us where the prophet's mother was. We're going to go rescuse her, but it could be awhile."  
And with that two started to head for the door.  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up here," Dean said, stepping in front of them, "Kevin you cannot do this, not on your own at least."  
"Heal will be with me." Kevin argued.  
"Yeah, well, a teenage prophet and a decaying angel do not a fighting force make." Dean replied, "Look, why don't you give me and Sam the information, and if she's there we'll go get her and bring her back here safe and sound, and probably a more than bit a traumatized."  
"You guys would actually do that for me?" Kevin asked, genuinely surprised.  
"Of course, we would." Sam spoke up.  
Kevin paused a moment, the said, "Alright. He's keeping her at a place called Castle Storage, in Witctha, he's got a demon named Del guarding the place. He's got two other hostages, a girl named Candy and a guy named Jerome."  
"We'll make sure to get them, too," Dean said gesturing for Heal to join them.  
"So, I'm the only one who's not allowed to go?" Kevin balked.  
"Only because I need a navigator," Sam replied, "Look, just scan the Angel Tablet while we're gone to see if there's any way to undo Metatron's spell, we'll be back before you know it."  
Kevin sighed, "Fine."  
"If she's there, we'll get her back," Dean assured, "We promise." Then they flew off.


	4. To Rescue The Stolen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys and Hael rescue Mrs. Tran.

They landed in a heap on floor. The trio looked up and saw a startled boy in hipster glasses staring at them.  
They quickly scrambled up, Sam and Dean pulling guns on him and Heal brandishing her angel blade.   
"Hey, guys," The boy, whose nametag said "Del" began, "Take whatever you want, I don't want any trouble."  
"Save it, Del," Dean said, pulling out the knife as well "We know what you are, we know what this is, just take us to the hostages and nobody gets hurt."  
Del lead them down the rows of storage unit at knife point, finally stopping in front of row. "They're in these three," He said, gesturing to the ones he meant. He searched his pockets for a moment. "Oops," He said in mock distress, "Looks like I forgot the keys."  
Heal dug her blade into his side, causing him to yelp in pain.  
"Don't," Dean said, "Those guys in there should get first pick."  
Suddenly, Sam got an idea.  
"Okay," Dean said, "I'll go back and get the keys, then-" He was interrupted by a loud noise. They all turned around to see Sam tearing into the metal door like a tin can. When he was done, the door revealed one Linda Tran who shirked away in fright. Sam rushed to her.  
"Ms. Tran!" Sam exclaimed, "Ms. Tran! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey, it's me. It's Sam. It's Sam."  
"Sam who?" Linda asked.  
It was then Sam remembered he didn't exactly look like himself at the moment. "Sam Winchester," He elaborated, "And yeah, I know I don't look like me right now, that's a long story, which I can explain later. Right now let's just get you out of here."  
Seeing no other way to do it, Sam grabbed onto one of the chains and pulled with all his might, separating the link from the shackle in a manner of seconds. "Here we go." Sam said, as he repeated the action with the second one. "All right." Then he lead out of the storage unit. "I'm gonna get the others, stay with Dean until I get back."  
Seeing Dean she walked over to him, saying, "I'm sure he insisted, but I trust you weren't foolish enough to bring Kevin along on this mission. That you left him someplace safe?"  
"Safest place we've got." Dean replied.  
Meanwhile, Sam made quick work of the other unit, reveal a young blonde woman on her hand and knees in a similar state to one Linda had been in. "No!" She said, backing up as Sam got closer, "No! No! No!"  
Seeing her friend's distress Linda quickly ran into the unit. "Candy, it's okay," She reassured her, "This is my friend, Sam, here's here to get us out of here."  
Sam tore the chains from their shackles then picked Candy up and carried her out fireman-style. When he set her down Del gave her poisonous look, causing the poor girl to shutter. "It's okay," Dean assured "He can't hurt you ever again."  
Linda went with him this time as he tore the door open, which was a good thing as Jerome, how had heard all the commotion outside was trying to fashion weapons out of his chains. "Jerome, it's me, Linda," She began once she saw him, "This is my friend Sam, he's here to rescues us. Kind of a blunt rescue, but beggars can't be choosers."  
"Thanks Linda," Sam said as he broke the chains.  
As they joined the others everyone's attention fell on Del. Hael handed Candy her angel blade and Sam handed Jerome Cas' as Dean handed Linda the knife, saying, "Do the honors?"  
"With pleasure." Linda said, taking the knife.  
"Hey, guys." Del said, realize how much trouble he was in, "I was just following ord--"  
Before he could finish they were upon stabbing with the forcitity all their pent up ager would allow, long after he was dead. When they finally stopped he was a bloody mess on the ground. Candy even spit on him for good measure.  
"Wow." Dean said, not sure what else to say, "You guys really had some anger issues with him, didn't you?"  
"Okay guys," Sam said, "Just grab onto my arm and we can get you out here."  
Kevin looked up when heard the flapping of wings. He saw The Winchesters and Hael standing with three new people.  
Two he didn't recognize.  
The other was his mother.  
"Mom!" He shouted, running to her.   
She met him halfway and they joined each other into an embrace. "Hello, son." She whispered into his ear.


	5. The Computer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the others away, Sam finds a possible way to keep track of the angels

In the days that followed, the little band of misfits fell into a steady rhythm. They spent equal amounts of time looking for something to help with Sam's body situation and something that help the overall angel situation, -thankfully so far, they had been pretty quiet, save for a slight increase in missing persons and some weird incidents- Hael and Sam/Cas go off on what Dean had nicknamed, "angel lessons" fix whatever Sam had accidently broke that day, repeat. At least until the day Kevin had a slight nervous breakdown.  
Which lead to Sam having some free time on his hands while Dean dealt with it.  
He was working on the map table when Dean walked in through the door upstairs.  
"Hey." Sam greeted him, "How'd it go with Kevin?"  
"Oh, that little nerd is in a lovely warded motel room in Branson." Dean replied, "He's got about 48 hours of pay-per-porn and Kenny Rogers ahead of him."  
"And his mom's okay with that first part?" Sam asked. Linda was mercifully out on an errand when the breakdown occurred, which she was still currently out on.  
"I didn't tell her about any of this," Dean explained as he walked down the stairs, "I mean, he stared at the Angel Tablet and repeated the word "falafel" the entire ride. Kid's cracked, and I'd rather not incur his mom's wrath by telling her if we don't absolutely have to. I'm hoping this break will, uh, clear his head."  
"And Hael?" Sam asked, as he noticed the angel had not returned with Dean.  
"Insisted on staying," Dean replied, "Standing outside the door with her blade drawn. At least I was able to convince her to go Invisible Girl so she wouldn't attract attention."  
"That is probably a good thing." Sam agreed.  
"You know, after everything that happened, I figured we could use a little break ourselves," Dean continued, then he opened a plastic stack, "so I, uh, picked up season one of ‘Game of Thrones’. Figured we get a little takeout."  
"All right." Sam replied, "Well, first, I think I might have found a way to help the angel situation."  
"Okay, I'm ears." Dean said.  
"All right." Sam repeated, "So, Kevin said the table lit up like a Christmas tree when the angels fell, right?"  
"So?" Dean responded.  
"So, it turned out each light was where a cluster of angels fell." Sam explained, "So I'm thinking maybe there's some way to hot-wire this, make it track angels. That way, if something weird happens, we can see if angels were anywhere near the area or not."  
"This was... your idea?" Dean asked.  
Sam looked slightly amused as he replied, "Do you see anybody else in here?"  
"Well, there is the other guy that's rolling around in your head," Dean pointed out.  
"Well, Cas didn't have anything to with it," Sam responded, "It was all me."  
"Okay." Dean replied, "So, how does it work?"  
"Oh, no idea," Sam admitted, "See, at first, I thought the table was the computer, but it's not. It turns out it's just part of it. But I did find these cables underneath, and I followed them. You're never gonna believe what I found."  
Sam lead Dean into a room full of electrical panels shelves and a very large, old computer.   
"Voila." Sam said once they entered.  
"This is a computer?" Dean asked.  
"Yeah--or it was in 1951, when it was installed." Sam answered, "Now, here's the crazy thing. It's not plugged in to anything. I mean, I have no idea what's making this thing work."  
The boys walked around to the other side of the computer. Dean put his hands on the back of it. "It's warm here." He declared, then he looked around and found a flat screwdriver on a shelf behind him. He inserted it in under the back panel of the computer and started to jimmy it open. He gave it a small pull and the panel popped off and sent him stumbling back into the shelf behind him unknowingly knocking over a bottle with gray liquid in it.  
"Got it." Dean said, referring to the panel.  
Sam looked at the back of the computer full of wires and unknown parts. "Huh." He mused.  
"Well, that looks simple." Dean said sarcastically, "Does it come with a manual?"  
"Nothing in the archives, and I obviously couldn't find anything like it online, not to mention I'm pretty sure that the Men of Letters doesn't exactly have I.T. support anymore, either." Sam answered.  
While the boys were talking they didn't notice the gray liquid in the bottle behind them start to move and grow.  
"I think I know somebody who can help us." Dean said, "Come on."  
The Winchesters stood up and left the room, switching off the light. The bottle's lid popped off and the gray liquid spilt on the floor and then started to grow and climb onto the wall.


	6. Slumber Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Charlie arrives to examine the computer, the group winds up with time to kill, which leads to talk to hunting and homes.

"So, you haven't found anything about how to get your body back?" Charlie asked, Sam recapping what Dean had warned her about on the phone.  
"Pretty much," Sam said as the pair entered the front door and descended the stairs. "Here it is."  
Dean, who was at the table, smiled when Charlie waved at him. "Hey." He said, getting up, "Thanks for coming." Then the two hugged.  
"Not a problem, especially since I got fired last week." Charlie replied.   
"Hey, what?" Sam asked, setting her bag down on the table, "What happened?"  
"Turns out the company I work for was outsourcing to child labor so I took a big Wikileak all over that." The hacker explained, "And, yeah. It's cool, though. It's given me more time to focus on my hobbies.... like larping, macramé, and hunting."  
"Excuse me?" Dean responded, looking alarmed. Sam also looked concerned.  
"Okay." Charlie began, trying to placate them before they got two worked up, "It was just a couple of cases. I took down a teenage vampire and a ghost......which sounds like a Y.A. novel if you say it out loud. "  
"Charlie, how'd it go?" Sam asked, still concerned.  
"It was, uh...it was intense." Charlie answered, "But I kind of wish hunting was more...magical, you know?"  
Dean rolled his eyes and Sam looked confused.  
"Never mind. " Charlie said, "So, where is this Commodore 64 of yours?"  
When they got to the computer room Charlie instantly started geeking out over the computer.  
"Sweet Ada Lovelace." She exclaimed, "This thing belongs in a museum. It mean, it's got encryption software. It seems to be powered by something magical."  
"Skip to the end." Dean said.  
"It's kind of an alarm system." Charlie explained, "Global badness? It freaks. This computer is what locked this place down."  
"Can we use it to track angels?" Sam asked.  
"All right." Charlie said, "Let me see what I can do."   
A while later Charlie had hooked up all kinds of wires and switches to her computer. She plugged the last one on in.  
"All right." The redhead said, "It took some doing, but now we can download. This beast had all the Men of Letters flies. Time for a little drag-and-drop."  
"Wow." Sam replied, "Well, it's a start. Thank you. Um, that's --that's great."  
Dean singled for his brother to ask Charlie about her earlier admission.  
"So, you've been hunting." Sam said.  
"Alone." Dean added.  
"I know." Charlie admitted, "Not a good idea, according to the "Supernatural" books."  
Both boys looked annoyed.  
"You really can't delete those from the internet?" Sam asked.  
"Not even I can do that." Charlie replied, "Come on!"  
"Where did you even find them?" Dean asked, secretly hopping there was still some way to get rid of all of them.  
"A top-secret place I call Amazon." Charlie answered with a cheeky grin, "And someone uploaded all the unpublished works. I thought it was fanfic at first, but it was clearly Edlund's work."  
"Who uploaded it?" Sam asked.  
"I don't know." Charlie answered, "Their screen name was beckywinchester176. Ring a bell?"  
Dean looked sharply at Sam who got very flustered.  
"None." Sam said, attempting to distance himself from his ex-wife, "Uh, nobody's. Uh, no, there are no bells. Un...no."  
Charlie looked at Sam like he had lost him mind then looked back at her computer. "Ugh, these flies are encrypted." She groaned, "This is gonna take a while. So, takeout, sleepover, braid each other's hair?"  
"Got an idea." Sam replied.  
And that was how they wound up in Sam's file and book covered room, Dean and Charlie sitting on the bed and Sam sitting in the chair beside them, watching "Game of Thrones". The episode ended and Dean turned off the TV.  
"Wow." Dean said, "That Joffery's a dick."  
"Oh, you have no idea." Charlie replied, "Wait until he--"  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Sam exclaimed, "S-spoilers. I haven't read all the books yet."  
"You're gonna read the books?" Dean questioned.  
"Yes, Dean." Sam responded, "I like to read books--you know, the ones without pictures."  
Dean shot an annoyed look at his brother.  
"Man, this bed is about as comfortable as a brick." Charlie commented, "Any plans on moving in anytime soon?"   
"I am moved in." Sam protested, "This is just my style."  
"Yeah, this is his, uh, style." Dean snarked.  
"Well, I'm sorry I haven't hung up the, uh, "Hang in there, kitty," poster yet, Dean." Sam replied, "Feel free to redecorate."  
"So, what, our home's not good enough for a "Hang in there, kitty," poster?" Dean questioned.  
"This isn't our home." Sam argued, "This is where we work."  
"What's the difference?" Dean asked.  
"Okay." Charlie said, looking uncomfortable with the sibling argument.  
Dean got up from the bed. "All right, well, I'm gonna get us some more beers. How about that?"  
After Dean left the room, Sam looked at Charlie.  
"So, Charlie, what was all that about how hunting isn't magical?" He asked.  
"Saving people, hunting things, the family business?" Charlie began, "I am down. But...I was raised on Tolkien, man. I mean, where is all this?" She held up the "Game of Thrones" disk, "Where are my White Walkers, and my volcano and magic ring to throw in the damn thing. Where--where is my quest?"  
"Sam,” Cas spoke up, "Do you have any idea what she'd talking about?"  
"Kinda," Sam whispered, the addressed Charlie, "Magic, quest...suck. Trust me. They're all-- dead ends."  
A little while later, Charlie, Sam and Dean went to check on the computer.  
"Download should be done by now." Charlie was saying.  
It was then Dean noticed one of the shelves had moved. "What the Hell?" He responded, "Sam, give me a hand."  
Sam and Dean moved the shelf away to review two gray pods on the wall. Sam pulled his gun as Dean took out a knife and cut part of the way one pod. An arm fell out. Dean cut the rest of the way and unconscious woman fell to the ground. She had lightly tanned skin and her hair was done back in a braided bun. The trio exchanged confused glances


	7. Stranger Than Fiction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio meets Dorthy Baum, discover even more things are real than they thought, and look for a wicked witch.

Lebanon, Kansas  
1930  
"What dump." Peter Jenkins one of the two Men of Letters stationed at the newly constructed bunker said, "You know, when I got this assignment, I thought there's be, I don't know, excitement, adventure."  
"There's nothing worse than adventure my boy." The slightly older of the two, James Haggerty, advised, "Trust me."  
Just then the phone rang and Haggerty answered. "Extension 765." There was a pause, then he said, "Yes. No. That's not the password." He shook his head. "There's protocol here, young lady. We'll be waiting." He hung up the phone. We have a guest--damn hunter. Frank's kid."  
"Really?" Jenkins perked up, "Wow. What he did for her--t-hat was really something."  
"He was something all right." Haggerty remarked.  
They heard the sound of the door opening above them and get up to greet the newcomer. A young woman hauled a large struggling bag towards them.  
"Holy buckets." Jenkins gapped, "It's really you."  
"That's right, rookie." The woman replied, "It's really me--Dorothy. Now, which one of you geniuses is gonna help me kill the wicked witch?"  
After Dorothy got said wicked witch out of the bag and sat her up at a table the three stared at the haggish creature.  
"So, what do you have to say for yourself?" Jenkins asked the witch.  
"Nothing." Dorothy spoke up, "I cut out her tongue. I've bound her, but it won't last."  
"Wait." Haggerty added in, "You captured her all by yourself?"  
"Yes." Dorothy replied coolly, "Despite all my lady parts, I managed to capture the wicked witch."  
"Your father would be very proud." Jenkins praised, " I mean, did you know that he--"  
"Wasted my time with his words." Dorothy interrupted, "And I'd appreciate it if you didn't do the same. Now, I have tried cutting off her head, burning her, dousing her with holy water. All she did was laugh. Nothing I know of can kill her. So, I'm here as a last resort. I was hoping you stiffs have a way to kill someone from Oz."  
As they talked, they didn't notice the wicked witch working on cutting the rope binding her hands with one of her long fingernails.  
"Well, of course we do." Jenkins declared, "W-we have to. This place is the last true beacon of light!"  
"All right." Dorothy responded, "Just open your damn books already."  
"All right, Jenkins."Haggerty said, "Let's get to work."  
"--dead ends." Haggerty said, after a couple of hours of futile searching, "Nothing but dead ends."  
"There's got to be some way to kill this thing." Jenkins added, equally stressed.  
At that point the wicked witch finally snapped the last of her bonds and jumped from the chair. Jenkins instantly went for her with a knife.  
"Jenkins, no!" Haggerty shouted.  
However, it was too late. The wicked witch threw her hand on Jenkins forehead and his eyes flashed bright green. It looked as if he was under a trance.  
"There's something here that belongs to me." The witch said through Jenkins, her new flesh puppet, "Take me to it."  
"What the Hell's it talking about?" Haggerty asked.  
"I have no idea." Dorothy admitted, "Do you have a lab?"  
"Second floor, room 28." Haggerty answered.  
Dorothy ran out of the room and Jenkins/the witch tried to fallow her. Haggerty grabbed him and a fight ensued. Jenkins/the witch got the upper hand and pushed the knife towards Haggerty chest.  
"Wait!" Haggerty shouted, "Jenkins, Jenkins! I know you're in there."  
"Jenkins is gone." Jenkins/ the wicked witch said.  
Haggerty did a move and stabbed Jenkins/the wicked witch with the latter's own knife. Jenkins eyes flashed green again and he snapped out of his chance.  
"You were right." Jenkins said with his dying breath, "There's nothing worse than adventure."  
With that Jenkins died and Haggerty took off. Mourning his friend would have to wait. Now he had to find Dorothy.  
Lebanon Kansas  
2013  
Dean and Charlie were reading the Men of Letters case folder on Dorothy, who was on the floor covered with a dark green blanket.  
"Holy crap!' Charlie exclaimed, "The first case in the bunker involved Dorothy. She and the witch came into this room and they never came out. This will never stop blowing my mind!"  
"Okay, pace yourself, Toto." Dean urged.  
"Oz is real!" Charlie continued, calmer but still overwhelmed with excitement, "It's part of the fairy world."  
Meanwhile Sam squatted down beside Dorothy. They had a lot to tell her about.  
"We have to find her." Dorothy said.  
"No, we have to talk before anyone does anything, okay?" Sam replied, "Dorothy?"  
"Talk?" Dorothy responded, "Typical Men of Letters, standing around, having a nice, little chat with your noses buried in you books while your little secretary takes notes."  
"We're hunters." Dean said.  
"And who are you calling a secretary?" Charlie corrected her a little defensively.  
"You're not a secretary?" Dorothy asked, "You're a Woman of Letters? W--How long have I been out?"   
"That's why we need to talk." Sam began, "Look, you've been gone for over 75 years. Now, according to our flies, you came here to kill the wicked witch and then disappeared. What happened?"  
"We couldn't find a way to kill her, so I did the only thing that I could." Dorothy said.  
Lebanon Kansas  
1930  
Dorothy was when the computer room mixing a spell into a glass bottle when the wicked witch appeared. Which was just what Dorothy wanted.  
"It's you and me forever, bitch." Dorothy said before capping the bottle and they both disappeared into a flash of light.   
Haggerty flung the door open to find nobody there.  
"Dorothy!" He called out, "Dorothy!"  
Lebanon Kansas  
2013  
"A binding spell that came at a price--her soul with mine." Dorothy finished.  
"So, you've been frozen with the witch for all this time?" Sam asked.  
"Yes." Dorothy answered, "Look, the witch cannot be killed. If I am awake, then so is she."  
Meanwhile, the witch in question had found her way to the dudgeon.  
"Hello, lovely." Crowley, who was still locked up down there for the time being, said.  
The wicked witch tried to cross the Devil's Trap the boys had put down in case any of the few remaining topside demons tried to get to Crowley, but it brunt her feet.  
"Sorry." Crowley said, "This litter box is warded against everything, even wicked witches. Big fan. Love your work, even with the personality changes I've been undergoing, but that's another matter."  
The wicked witch let out an angry hiss and her eyes glowed green.  
"What's the matter, darling?" Crowley asked, "Cowardly lion got you tongue? Right. Enough chitchat. Must be here for a reason." He wrapped a crayon he had been given around a piece of paper and threw it at her. She caught it. "Write it down so daddy can help."  
Meanwhile, back in the computer room, Sam was asking, "Wait, if she's here, why didn't she kill you?"  
"She can't." Dorothy answered bluntly.  
"You're protected by the Witch of the North's kiss." Charlie added in, "It's from the books."  
"Oh, forget the books!" Dorothy snapped, "They're not important. I'm protected. You aren't. Now, the witch came here looking for something. I have no idea what it is. But we have to find her before she finds it."  
"All right, all right." Dean said, "Charlie, dig into the flies. See if you can find anything that puts a dent in the witch."  
"Mm-hmm." Charlie agreed.  
"Sam and I will have a look-see." Dean continued, "Come on."  
"I'm helping." Dorothy protested.  
"Yeah, I don't doubt it." Sam said, "But for right now, why don't you rest up and help the smartest person in the room."  
They boys took their leaves, leaving the two girls alone with each other.  
"So big fan." Charlie said her back to Dorothy but turning around.  
"Hmm." Dorothy responded.  
"Ozma of Oz--" Charlie began.  
"Is a total ass." Dorothy cut her off bluntly, rolling her eyes a little.   
"You were much nicer in the books." Charlie said, dejected.  
"Those books are the ravings of a sad, old man--my father." Dorothy replied.  
"Wait." Charlie said, "Your dad was L. Frank Baum, the writer?"  
"A man of letters." Dorothy answered, "Another glorified librarian, you ask me."   
"Hey, these guys might have been sexist, but like all librarians, they were wicked smart, too." Charlie said, "The dude who was here when you came in--Haggerty--he kept you case file open, worked it every day until he retired. Obviously, he never found you, but if you took five second to read, he did find a way to fight the wicked witch. Do you remember the poppy fields in the first book?"  
"That's not actually how it happened." Dorothy replied, "It was much bloodier."  
"Stop...ruining my childhood. " Charlie said patiently, "Do you remember the poppies?"  
Dorothy nodded.  
"Good." Charlie continued, "Haggerty made a deal with a fairy and got some poppy extract. I'm gonna get some bullets on the gun range and make us some poppy bullets. So, are you coming or what?"  
Dorothy fallowed her out of the room, genuinely impressed.  
Meanwhile Sam and Dean were clearing the bunkers with their guns pulled.  
"You know, Sam." Castiel spoke up, "You didn't necessarily have to leave the girls to research."  
"And why is that?" Sam asked.  
"Why is what?" Dean asked.  
"Talking to Cas." Sam explained, "I'll tell you in a little bit."  
"You could always just smite the witch." Cas said.  
"You think that would work?" Sam asked.  
"Well, there are a few exceptions, but smiting works with just about everything," Cas answered, "I see no reasons why this witch would be different."  
"So, what's going on?" Dean asked.  
"Cas thinks I should just smite the witch." Sam explained.  
"You can really do that?" Dean asked.  
"Apparently." Sam replied.  
"You wanna try it on this thing?" Dean asked, "I mean, maybe we should test this out on smaller game first."  
Before the conversation could go on, they could hear Crowley start whistling "somewhere over the rainbow."  
"Wow." Crowley said upon seeing them, "If it isn't the Scarecrow and the Tin Man. Your new houseguest--so misunderstood."  
The boys looked confused.  
"Neither of you saw Wicked?" Crowley asked.  
"What did she say to you?" Sam asked.  
"Something along the lines of..."Crowley began, then he hissed loudly.  
" All right, well, I'm gonna go get some holy oil and a lighter, dick bag." Dean said, "It still oughta work." Fire tended to work on everything.   
"I know what she's looking for." Crowley said quickly.  
"What does she want?" Sam asked.  
"I'd be happy to tell you, as soon as I get to stretch my legs." Crowley said,  
Dean unlocked the neck cuff while Sam held a gun and Crowley and he stood up.  
"Oh." Crowley breathed, "Ahh."  
"All right." Sam said, "What does the witch want?"  
"Give me a moment." Crowley replied, "I still need to air myself out."  
Dean pulled his gun and fired a shot, barely missing Crowley.  
"I think you've aired out enough." Dean said.  
"Rude." Crowley responded, then he held up a piece of paper with the word "key" written on it.  
"Key?" Sam responded, "What key?"  
" I haven't the foggiest." Crowley admitted, "Had to send her on a merry chase before she could melt me. Told her your boys keep the keys in the kitchen. You do have a kitchen in this crap hole, don't you?"  
When the boys entered the kitchen, their guns at the ready, it was a complete wreck.  
"Damn it, I just cleaned in here." Dean cursed.  
"Really?" Sam responded.  
"Looks like we got a witch here." Dean said, ignoring Sam's last comment.  
Suddenly someone entered from behind them and the boys swung with their guns drawn. When they saw it was Charlie and Dorothy they put them away.  
"Sorry." Charlie said, "We raided your gun range. Made us some poppy bullets. They won't kill the witch, but they will stun the crap out of her."  
"That's my girl." Dean said with a proud look.  
"There was only enough for four bullets so...make each shot count." Charlie instructed.  
"Now we just have to find her before she finds whatever the Hell's she's looking for." Dorothy replied.  
"She's looking for a key." Sam spoke up.  
"How do you know?" Charlie asked.  
"Little birdie told us." Sam answered, "Ring any bells, Dorothy?"  
"Unfortunately." Dorothy answered, "It's the key to Oz. There are magical ways into Oz--tornado, eye of a hurricane, whirlpool--but this key will turn any locked door into a portal to Oz. Insert key, twist, and presto, you're in Oz."  
"How did the Men of Letters get the key?" Sam asked.  
"I have no idea, but if she finds it, she'll go back and finished what she started." Dorothy said gravely, "She'll destroy all that is good in Oz. She's got armies of witches, flying monkeys. Many will die."  
"What's this key look like?" Dean asked.  
Dorothy pulled out her journal and showed Dean a picture.  
"I've seen that key." He said, "Found it when I was doing inventory."  
"Where is it now?" Dorothy asked.  
"My room." Dean answered, "We got to get to that key. All right, Charlie and I will go look in my room. Why don't you guys buy us some time?"  
Sam and Dorothy left.  
"Charlie?" Dean began, "Safest place in this joint is the dudgeon."  
"You have a dungeon in this place?" Charlie responded, "Of course you do."  
"So maybe you should... Dean began.  
"I am not hiding, especially in a dungeon." Charlie protested, "Wicked witch, a key, a quest. Let's do this." She bounced away out the door, which did not instill any confidence in Dean.  
"C-Charlie..." Dean called out.


	8. REALLY Stranger Than Fiction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the group continues to look for the witch, Sam discovers some new powers, Dean and Sam discuss why Sam hasn't moved in, and Dorothy tells Charlie what really happened in Oz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Early happy Mother's Day everyone!

Dorothy and Sam walked through the main part of the bunker.  
"I can't believe I've lived here for 75 years." Dorothy was saying, "How long have you called this place home?"  
"My brother calls it home." Sam corrected, "Me, I, uh--I haven't had that much luck with homes."  
"Me neither." Dorothy agreed, "Overrated, you ask me. Yellow brinks or not, give me the open road any day." At that point she turned and saw the wicked witch behind them. "Sam!"  
She shot a poppy bullet at the wicked witch but missed and the witch disappeared into a vent.  
"She can get anywhere from there." Dorothy said urgently, "Split up, cover more ground?"  
Meanwhile, Charlie and Dean were searching his room. Charlie opened a box only to find antique porn.  
"You keep your porn meticulously organized, but not--" She began.  
"Don't judge me." Dean cut her off, "Ah!" He pulled the key out of a box, "Yahtzee."  
Charlie turned around and saw the wicked witch behind Dean. "Dean!" She shouted, alerting him to the danger.  
The witch grabbed the key from Dean's hand and slapped him against the wall; stunning him. She then prepared to throw green lighting at him.  
"No!" Charlie shouted as she threw herself between Dean and the green lighting, which she caught square in the chest, all of it, then fell to the ground, motionless. Dean stood up and shot the witch with a poppy bullet, but she disappeared into a vent again.  
"Charlie?" Dean said desperately, "Charlie?" He bent down and shook her but got no response. "Charlie?!" He started to tear up as he cradled her head in his hand. Regaining a semblance of composure, Dean carried Charlie to his bed and laid her down. Charlie?" He wiped the hair out if her face. "Charlie." He started to panic. No!"  
"Dean!" Sam's voice called out from the hallway.  
Dean whipped around. "Sam!"  
Sam entered the room and his eyes immediately went to Charlie. "What happened?"  
"The witch--the witch was about to put a whammy on me, and she jumped in front and got zapped." Dean explained, "I think she's gone."  
Sam's heart stopped, then plummeted into his stomach.  
"You can still save her, Sam." Castiel's urgent voice broke trough Sam's shock.  
"What?" Sam said, allowed, "How?"  
"I just-" Dean began, then it hit him, "Cas again? Is it about Charlie?"  
"He says I can save her." Sam explained, "How do I do it?"  
"Just trust your instincts." Cas encouraged him.  
"Okay, I think we've already covered that I have no instincts!" Sam snapped.  
"Put your hand somewhere on her body," Cas instructed, "We usually use the forehead, but anywhere will work. Then think of her being alive."  
Sam approached Charlie and laid two fingers in her forehead. She gasped and sat up. "Merry Christmas."  
"Charlie?" Dean asked.  
"Uh." She replied, a little out of it, "Hey, I know you."  
"I told you to stay in the dudgeon." Dean said.  
"Bet you say that to all the girls." Charlie quipped.  
"Now, about the witch." Sam said.  
"That's a good question." Dean replied, "I, uh, --I clipped her with a--with a poppy bullet. I think she's gone."  
"No," Dorothy said, entering the room, "She's wounded. We should still have some time. She could still be in the air vents."  
Charlie tried to get up from the bed but was still woozy. "No." Charlie began, protesting her body's refusal to corporate, "No, no. We--we have to--we--"  
Dean steadied her. "Whoa, whoa, whoa."  
"Just go." Dorothy said, "We'll catch up."  
Charlie gestured to Sam saying, "M-my gun's over there. There's one bullet in it."  
Sam grabbed the gun and the brothers left.  
"Can we be best friends now?" Charlie asked Dorothy weakly.  
After a moment, Dorothy said, "I guess."  
"I had the weirdest dream when I was out." Charlie began, "It was Christmas, my parents were alive, and--"  
"Dream?" Dorothy interrupted, "Charlie, you died. Don't worry about it, through. You're not a real hunter until you've died and come back again."  
"Slow down." Charlie said, "Why would you think I died?"  
"Heaven--it's your dream life." Dorothy explained, "And if you were zapped by the wicked witch, instant death. I would know. She killed me, too."  
"Okay." Charlie responded, "Let's rewind here a bit. When did you die?"  
"In Oz." Dorothy began, as if it obvious "My father was obsessed with his work as a Man of Letters, and then I was born...and nothing changed. He would keep his work a secret, but I was such a curious kid. I was always looking for trouble, looking for the next big adventure."  
"I know the feeling." Charlie said.  
"I stowed away on one of his cases, wound up in the Emerald City, accidently got left behind." Dorothy continued, "It was terrifying.""  
"Well, what happened?" Charlie asked.  
"I met up with these three freedom fighters, and they thought I was a child of destiny chosen to kill the Wicked Witch." Dorothy explained, "They protected me, and then the witch turned them into--"  
"A scarecrow, a loin and a tin man?" Charlie guessed.  
"And then she hunted me down and killed me." Dorothy finished.  
"Yeah, that never made it to the books." Charlie said.  
"Sometimes real life is darker than fiction." Dorothy replied.  
Meanwhile they boys were combing the main room.  
"Why haven't you moved in?" Dean asked suddenly.  
"Is now really the time for this, Dean?" Sam replied.  
"Well, just asking." Dean said.  
"Look, I never had what you had with mom and dad, okay?" Sam almost snapped.  
"What are you talking about?" Dean asked.  
"I don't have any memories of home." Sam explained, "And whenever I've tried to make a home of my own, it hasn't ended well."  
"Yeah, but, a lifetime of abandoned buildings and crappy motel rooms." Dean argued, "I mean, this is about as close to home as we're gonna get, and its ours."  
"You know, Sam, I think Dean might have a point." Cas spoke up.  
"Oh, you stay out of this." Sam replied.  
Meanwhile, Dorothy and Charlie left Dean's room as they continued their conversation.  
"And what about the books?" Charlie asked.  
"Revisionist history." Dorothy sneered, "That's my father's way of undoing what happened to me. But I knew the truth. When the witch came to our world, I became a hunter and my father wrote those silly books."  
"Don't you get it?" Charlie replied, "The books aren't silly. They're guidebooks filled with clues he left for you. Haggerty pored through each one, and his research led him to undercover the poppies, so maybe there's something else from the books we can use, preferably something with a pointy end."  
Dorothy visibly lit up as something dawned on her. "You are a genius." She declared, "Come on. We've got to get to the garage."  
"There's a garage in this place?!" Charlie replied, "Oh, boy."  
Meanwhile in the main room, things were about to take a turn for the boys.  
"Clear." Sam said, when he realized the witch wasn't in the area.  
"I got nothing." Dean added.  
"What do you think?" Sam asked, "Is she gone?"  
Dean turned and found to his horror the wicked witch grabbing Sam and almost shooting her green lighting at him. "Sam!" Dean rushed them and knocked all three of them over a table. Before they could recover the witch placed her hands on their foreheads and Dean's eyes flashed green, but Sam was strangely unaffected. The witch let out a distressed hiss. Sam threw her into the wall and got up hurrying over to her. He put his hand on her forehead, ready to smite her, then he hesitated, worrying, if he did it while Dean was under her control, would he be hurt, too?  
Suddenly Sam felt a thick arm around his neck. "What are you?" The wicked witch, speaking through Dean demanded.  
Sam pushed the arm away with all his strength, then teleported from the room.  
The girls got to the huge beautiful garage at the same time Sam landed in to in a heap on the floor.  
"Sam!" Charlie shouted as the girl rushed over to him. "What happened?" She asked as she helped him upright.  
"The witch got the jump on me and Dean," Sam explained, "He's got him under some sort of...mind control."  
"Why didn't she get you, too?" Dorothy asked.  
Charlie and Sam exchanged glances then Sam said, "I don't think she could. You see, I'm...an angel."  
"An angel?" Dorothy repeated, "They're real?"  
Charlie and Sam nodded.  
"And he is one?" Dorothy asked.  
"Well, I use to be human," Sam explained, "But a month ago there was this thing, and I turned into an angel. It wasn't really important until now, so we didn't think to mention it."  
"No problem." Dorothy said. After taking another moment to process the information just thrown at her she looked around and spotted a motor cycle. "Yes." She grinned, "I knew those boy scouts would keep it for me."  
The trio rushed over to the bike and Dorothy started to take items out of the saddle bag. She held up a mask.  
"Is that...?" Charlie began.  
"Yeah." Dorothy answered sadly, "He didn't make it."  
"Ooh." Charlie moaned.  
Dorothy recommenced with digging through the bag. "Please be here." She pleaded, "Please be here. Yes!" She pulled out a pair of ruby red high heel and held them aloof for a moment in victory.  
"I don't believe it." Charlie said, "Did you really walk down a brick road in these?"  
"No." Dorothy admitted, "I never actually wore them. Seemed kind of tacky wearing a dead woman's shoes. Plus, I'm no good in heels, you know?"  
"I don't suppose we could just wish her away?" Charlie asked.  
"Sorry." Dorothy replied, "Another thing the books got wrong. But, like the poppies, these have magic from Oz--sharp magic."  
"Oh." Charlie responded, "Death by shoe?"  
"There you are." A voice that sounded like Dean's but unusually deep said from behind them.  
"I take it that's not his Batman voice." Charlie said nervously.  
"No, he's still possessed." Sam said.  
"I missed you, my pretty." The Wicked Witch/Dean said, as he walked towards him, "Killing you a second time will be just as sweet as the first."  
"Dean I know you're in there. " Charlie tried, "You can't let the witch do this. Is she opens the door, she's going to destroy Oz."  
Before anyone could stop him, the possessed Dean grabbed Charlie by the shoulder and smashed her through a glass window.  
"I have no intention of escaping to Oz." The Wicked Witch/Dean said, "I'm going to bring my armies here."  
In the main room, the Wicked Witch climbed the stairs in the main room with a handful of ingredients for a spell. She sat it down in front of a door. She mixed the spell then inserted the key into the door. She looked into Oz gazing upon a black castle with rolling red clouds in the sky, then let out a cackling scream.


	9. The Witch Is Dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie, Dorothy and Sam do battle with the witch. Mostly Charlie and Dorothy.

"Don't worry." The Wicked Witch/ Dean said, "You'll join Dorothy what right after you watch her die."  
Sam stepped in front of Dorothy. "You'll going to have to get through me, first."  
"Gladly." The Wicked Witch/Dean said with an almost sadistic smile on his face.  
"Sorry about the nards, Dean." Charlie said weakly before he could take a step further, then kicked him between the legs, causing him to double over in pain.  
Dorothy threw a ruby high heel to Charlie.  
"Go." Sam instructed them, "I'll buy you two some time."  
Charlie and Dorothy left as Sam turned to face his possessed brother.  
"You know you can't hurt me without hurting him." The Wicked Witch/ Dean warned.  
"I think he'll understand." Sam replied.  
In the main room, the wicked witch was calling her flying monkeys through the door. They split out of the black castle. She was so engrossed in what she was doing that she didn't notice Dorothy and Charlie sneaking up behind her, shoes at the ready. Then Dorothy raised her shoe and struck the witch in the back on the head, causing her to go stiff and turn around to find Dorothy and Charlie behind her.  
"Now heel!" Charlie shouted, then stabbed the other slipper into the witch's chest, causing her to fall to the ground.   
Back at the garage Sam and possessed were in a fierce battle, and Dean was about to strike another blow when his eyes flashed green as the spell was broken.  
"What the Hell just happened?" Dean asked, confused.  
"I think Charlie and Dorothy." Sam replied.  
Back in the main room, Charlie and Dorothy were struggling to close the door before the flying monkeys got there. They barely shut it in time and then Dorothy opened the door to make sure. It was just an empty bunker hallway now. Meanwhile, Charlie searched witch's cloak finding and removing the key to Oz. They heard the boys franticly making their way back to the room to see what happened. When she saw them she smiled and wave, showing them the key. "Ding-dong, bitches." She said triumphantly.


	10. Over The Rainbow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dorothy departs and Charlie finds her quest.

A few hours later Sam, Dean, Charlie and Dorothy regrouped the garage which now held the Impala.  
"Baby looks good in here, hun?" Dean was saying.   
"Not bad." Sam grinned.  
At that point Charlie cut in, motioning to side. "Dean..."  
While they went off, Sam had something she needed to give to Dorothy. "Dorothy, I, uh--I found something in the archives. " He began, "Pretty sure it belongs to you." He handed her a copy of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.  
Dorothy smiled. "You have no idea how odd it is having a series of books written about you."  
"Actually, I-I do know, un, and it is definitely weird." Sam agreed, "But you know what? End of the day, it's our story, so we get to write it."  
Meanwhile, Charlie and Dean were having their own conversation. "So, thanks for the slumber party..." Charlie began.  
"Mm." Dean replied.  
Charlie lowered her voice as she continued, "...and bringing me back from the dead."  
"Uh, I didn't." Dean said.  
"Don't B.S. a B.S.er-" Charlie began, but then it dawned on her, "Sam?"  
Dean nodded.  
"Okay, I'll thank him in a minute," Charlie said, "But am I a zombie now? Do I need to east brains?"  
"No, no, no." Dean said quickly, "You're not. You're gonna be fine, alright? I mean, Sam's new to it, but no one's ever turned into a zombie before with this method, at least to my knowledge."  
And with that they rejoined Sam and Dorothy.  
"Not bad for a bunch of librarians." Dorothy admitted, "You mind keeping an eye on my bike for me?"  
"Yeah, yeah, as long as you don't mind me taking it for a spin once in a while." Dean replied.  
"Deal." Dorothy agreed, "Thank you for everything. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a rebellion to finish." She turned to Charlie, "So, you coming or what?"  
"What?" Charlie responded, "With you? To Oz?"  
"Yeah." Dorothy replied, "You said you were looking for adventure. Well, here it is, Red. Come help me find my damn dog."  
"You have no idea what's in Oz." Dean warned, looking concerned, "I mean, t-there's flying monkeys, armies of witches. There's all kinds of danger."  
Charlie lit up. "Promise?" Then she jumped to hug Dean, then Sam.  
"If you need anything, just, uh, tap your heels together three times, okay?" The angel requested.  
"Me?" Charlie responded, "What about you crazy kids? You gonna be alright without me? Take care of yourselves, boys."  
Dorothy and Charlie turned and inserted the key into the double doors at the end of the garage. When they pushed it opened it revealed a beautiful landscape, with a yellow brick road running through it. They could even make out what to be the Emerald city in the distance. The pair walked into Oz. Charlie looked back one last time and Dorothy saluted, then the doors closed behind them.  
Just to be sure, Dean and Sam pushed the doors back open but now it was just the underground tunnel leading out of the garage.  
"Think she'll be back?" Dean asked wistfully.   
"Of course." Sam answered, "There's no place like home."


	11. World's Deadliest Case of Mistaken Identity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While out in Cas' body, and is mistaken for him, which leads to a deadly confrontation.

It had been a week and a half since Charlie had left for Oz, and once again things had fell back into their usual rhythm. Case in point, looking for a way to get Sam his own body, which was what they had been doing when Dean started complaining of the lack of food in the bunker which prompted Sam to fly out on supply run.  
He was grabbing a bag of chips when he realized he was being fallowed. His follower had done a fairly good job at first, but in a white pharmacy coat, he wasn't exactly conspicuous.  
As Sam exited the quick mart he looked around and saw the pharmacist behind him. "Why are you following me?"  
In response an angel blade fell out from the man's sleeve.  
Sam immediately went for his own and raised it as the angel came at him, his own blade raised as well. Sam slashed the other angel's hand, surprising him enough to grab his wrist and take off with him.  
Sam landed in a heap on the bunker floor, causing everyone to jump back a little. Then they noticed he hadn't returned alone.  
"Who the Hell is that?!" Dean exclaimed.  
"That's what I want to know." Sam replied, pinning the angel down to the ground.  
Dean and Sam dragged the angel down to the dudgeon stopping when they remembered the place was already occupied.  
"Hello boys," Crowley said, "Brought me a new playmate?"  
"What are we gonna do about him?" Dean whispered.  
Sam thought a minute then called out, "Unchain him and take him upstairs, ask the others to watch for a little bit while we have some alone time with this guy. I'll start stringing him up."  
Dean went upstairs and Sam threw the semi-conscious angel on the ground and grabbed a chain from the ceiling.   
By the Sam had finished restraining their prisoner, Dean arrived with Linda and Hael. "Listen up, Crowley," Dean said as he undid the chains, "You are going to be on your best behavior for them or they are going to run you though."  
Linda was holding a gun and Hael had her blade. "Come on," The angel said, sticking it in Crowley's side then the trio marched up the stairs.   
"Does she know who you are?" The angel asked. It was the first thing he had said since his capture.  
"What does that mean?" Sam asked.  
"I mean, does she know she's working with one of Heaven's most wanted?" The angel elaborated, more than a hit of mocking in his tone, "I mean, I nearly missed you myself, but you matched the vessel's description exactly. I could see why she would get mixed up."  
Suddenly it all snapped together for Sam. "Dean," He gapped, "He thinks I'm Cas." Then addressing the angel himself, "Cas, he thinks I'm you."  
"I got that, Sam." Cas spoke up in Sam's head soberly.  
"Well, that explains a lot," Dean said, trying cover-up how alarmed he was, "I mean, every angel's gotta be out to get him. This was bound to happen sometime." Then turning to the angel he asked, "So, who else knows about this? Is it just you, or, uh, do you have friends we need to worry about?"  
"What do you mean think?" The angel asked, starting to see something more was going on then what he thought, "Why did you talk to yourself in the second person, like you were somewhere else? Unless..."  
"Hey!" Dean snapped, slashing the angel in the shoulder before he could think, "You don't ask the questions here, okay? We do. Now who else knows about this?"  
For the next hour they tortured the angel, who refused to crack, taunting them and asking them the same question over and over again, getting closer to the truth.   
"Alright," The angel rasped finally, "I'll make a deal with you. I'll tell you everything I know, if you tell me what's going on with him."  
"That's not how it works here." Dean said, "This is not a negotiation. You tell us what we wanna know, and you get squat, that's the terms here!"  
"Come on, you're going to kill me anyway," The angel reasoned, "At least satisfy my curiosity before I go."  
Dean and Sam exchanged looks. They had to admit, it wasn't a bad idea.   
"You go first." Dean ordered.  
"Fair enough," The angel conceded, "There's a new leader, Bartholomew, Naomi's old protégé, been organizing the angels. He wants Castiel dead, same as everyone else. He's just a little more pro-active about it."  
Both Sam and Dean's hearts plummeted. This did not bode well for either Cas or Sam, as long as he was in Cas' body.  
"That's it." The angel said, "Now pay up."  
While they had their reservations they told the angel everything. Last wish of dying man and all.  
"Wow," The angel said, as surprised as they all had been, "That's-that's something right there. I don't even know what to call that."  
"You won't have time to figure it out," Dean said, aiming the blade at the angel chest, about to stab it when suddenly an arm reached out and grabbed his wrist, moving it away from the angel, who chuckled, "I'd find a new vessel if I were you, Sam." He warned, "If I found him, and by extension you, others will. And when that happens...well, let's just say it won't work out well for either of you."  
"Alight, that's enough out of you." Dean said, before stabbing the angel in the chest. He bled light and then went limp, an imprint of broken wings in the wall.  
Everyone was silent for a moment, then Dean said, "You okay, Sam?"  
"Yeah," Sam replied, "Just a little rattled. Cas?"  
"Fine." Castiel spoke up from Sam's mind, "I...knew something like this was coming. I'm just sorry you got caught up in it, Sam."  
"So," Sam said, "What's the plan now?"  
Instead of responding, Dean marched up the stairs into the main area where the Trans and Hael were grading Crowley. "Okay, listen up!" He said, "I need Crowley back in that hole, then everyone on the books. Until Sam gets his body back, everything and anything else is on hold!"


	12. More Witches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang discovers possible help for Sam in a most unusual coven.

Well, thanks anyway," Dean said, before hanging up the phone and crossing another name off the list.  
They had finally resorted to asking any contacts they had for help with the matter after exhausting all other resources, something they hadn't done before because they were trying to keep a lid on the whole species-change thing.   
"Is there anyone else on the list?" Kevin asked.  
"Yeah," Dean said, "Edna Martians, a witch out of Tennessee. "  
"Dean, she was like, ninety," Sam pointed out, "She's probably dead by now."  
"Dude, that's like twenty for witches," Dean said dialing the number.   
"Hello?" A female voice they didn't recognize said on the other end of the line.   
"Hey, uh, who is this?" Dean asked.  
"Lola Martins." The voice said, "Why do you have my grandmother's number?"  
"She's an acquaintance of ours." Dean explained, "We were hoping she could help us out with something."   
"I'm sorry." Lola replied, "She pasted on a couple of years ago."  
Dean's heart sank.  
"Maybe I can help you." Lola suggested.  
"I don't think so, miss." Dean said.  
Before Dean could hang up, Lola said, "If it's a witchcraft thing, she taught me magic. I even have my own coven now."  
Dean was silent for a moment then said, "Okay, can I shoot a hypothetical at you?"  
"Shoot away." Lola replied.  
"Say-hypothetically- that a human was turned into an angel in the process their body was destroyed." Dean began, "I know it's a bit far-fetched, but just stay with me here. Say this person wants to get their body yet, is there like a-spell or something that could get their body back?"  
There was silence for a moment, then Lola said, "I'll look into it then I'll call you back. Can I get your number?"  
Dean gave it to her and then hung up. To everyone's surprised she called back an hour later. "Okay." She said, "One of my coven members has spell that can work, but I need to know exactly what's going on before anyone does anything."   
They told Lola everything, and then she said, "Okay, come up to our place and we can get this all sorted."  
And so, the entire group loaded up and headed to Tennessee.  
After hours of driving they arrived at well-built older red brick house with a group of four girls standing out front. In the front was a young woman with long wavy brown hair with her arm around a frail-looking young woman with pink-gold hair. Behind them was a young woman with straight light brown hair and ruddy orange-brown skin, and a redhead with hazel eyes.  
As they stepped out of the car the girl with the wavy brown hair and blonde walked up to them. "You must be Dean and Sam." The brunette said, "I'm Lola, we talked on the phone."  
"Nice to meet you." Dean replied, "And this is?"  
"Miriam." The girl spoke up, her eye never leaving Sam, "I'm sorry, Lola told me everything, but I didn't really believe it until right now."  
"Believe what?" Sam asked.  
"That there was a newborn angel." Miriam said, "I mean, I don't exactly know everyone personally, but I would've noticed you."  
"Sam, what is she talking about?" Dean asked.  
"She's an angel too." Sam replied.


	13. The Christians And The Pagens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The coven works to restore Sam's body.

"Angels are hanging out with witches now?" Dean asked, "You don't have any more over there, do you?"  
"No, it's just her." Sam said, "So I guess you're the one who knows how to get my body back?"  
Miriam nodded. "I was one of the angels that remade Anna's body. She saved by life on one occasion and covered for me on a screw-up on another, so I owed her. Only I had help from a few others."  
"Just tell us what you need." The redhead spoke up.  
"Yeah, we'll do anything we can to help." Lola added.  
"It’s very difficult spell-work," Miriam warned.  
"Mim, you’re family," Lola insisted, "We're going to help you, like it or not."  
And so, Miriam started giving out orders, things she needed people to get, things she needed people to do. She was while she was cutting up saffron Sam had acquired from a very specific region of the Middle East and Dean was sitting down the holy oil form the car, he asked, "So, a Miriam, just wondering, how does an angel wind up a member of a coven?"  
"I landed in field a about a mile from the house," Miriam explained, "Lola and Kimmie saw me fall, and went to see what happened. When they found me, I was hurt and disoriented, so they took me back here and they all tried to help me the best they could. They didn't seem mind that I was an angel once I was able to tell them. After all that...and I don't know if this makes any sense...but I just couldn't make it matter to me that they were witches."  
"I can understand that." Dean said. These women had helped when she had no one, and she got to know them as people. They cared about her and she cared about them.   
At that point Kimmie, the redheaded witch came through the door, followed by Hael and Kevin. "Okay, " Kimmie was saying, "It took a little bit, but I think we found everything you need."  
"Why did you need a picture of Sam?" Kevin asked.  
"So, I know what to picture in my head." Miriam explained, taking the brown grocery bag from him.  
After everything had been prepared, everyone was gathered around a slab that had been placed in the kitchen, “Okay girls," Miriam was saying, "When when we start chanting you need to have Sam's original body pictured in your mind, otherwise we're just pouring mess on a table, got it?"  
The three witches nodded.  
"Good." Miriam replied, "Now get ready." She began pouring a concoction of holy oil, saffron, and all the other ingredients she had them get, while she and the other chanted in Enochian. Once she had finished pouring a bright white light glowed from the table and the mass began to change form. The light began to fade and once it had, Sam's body laid on the table, its eyes closed, not breathing.   
"Is that-?" Sam began.  
"Your body," Miriam confirmed, "Good as new."  
"Now how does he get back in it?" Dean piped up.  
"He just need to leave Cas and go into it," Miriam said nonchalantly.  
"Don't I need permission first?" Sam asked.  
"It was your body to begin with," Miriam reminded him, "It sort of negates the rules a bit."  
"And how do I leave Cas?" Sam asked.  
Miriam gave him look like he had just asked her how to walk.   
"He's new to this, remember?" Hael spoke up. Not that she was one to talk; Castiel had taken over Sam's body temporally to remind her to be patient on more than one occasion.  
"Just focus," Miriam encouraged, "It should be just-"  
"Let me guess," Sam cut her off, "Instinctual?"  
"How did you know I was gonna say that?" Miriam asked.  
"Let's just say in the last month I've discovered angels do a whole lot more things on instinct then I ever thought." Sam offered for an explanation, then closed his eyes. In few seconds a train of sliver left Cas' body which collapsed on the floor. Simultaneously the train went into Sam's body. He slowly opened his eyes and sat up looking around.  
"How you feeling?" Dean, asked his brother, hurrying to his side.  
"Fine." Sam answered, then looking to Cas who was sitting upright as well, "You?"  
"I'm fine as well." Cas replied.  
Looking around, Sam realized something he hadn't thought of before. His body hadn't come back with clothes included. He let out a gasp, covering his manhood with both hands.  
"Did you bring him some extra clothes?" Lola asked.  
Everyone from Team Free Will exchanged awkward looks. "Honestly we didn't think that far ahead." Kevin finally admitted.  
Amber, the British witch, sighed. "I'll go see what I can scround up."  
Five minutes later Amber came back with a pair of SpongeBob boxers, blue jeans, and a gray sweatshirt that was a bit too small. However, since Sam was feeling a draft and it was a miracle that she could find anything he could fit in at all, he wasn't going to complain. He did however, wish she could have found some shoes.  
"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Castiel asked Miriam as everyone was preparing to head out, "It's crowded, but, you don't look like you take up much room."  
Miriam smiled indulgently. "I'll be fine," She assured him, "I have my sisters."  
"But these witches are human," Hael, who was walking on the right side of her said, confused.  
"I think she means her honorary sisters," Cas explained, "Am I right?"  
"It's something like that,” Miriam confirmed. She glanced over to the girls. Kimmie and Amber had started bickering over something and Lola rolled her eyes.  
Just then Sam came over to them. "Hey," He said, "I just wanted to say again, thanks for all you help."  
"You're welcome," Miriam replied, "And if you ever need anything else, just let us know, we'll come running."  
"Alright," Sam said, "See you around."  
"You too," Miriam promised before running back to the coven.  
"Come on you two," Sam said, gesturing for Cas and Hael to come with him, "Let's go."  
They walked over to the car and got in, they all drove off. Through the rearview mirror they could see the coven waving goodbye.


	14. Cunieform

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To translate the Angel Tablet, the team takes desperate measures, then make a devastating discovery.

Sam picked through the pictures of a sheaf of drawings in red and black with cryptic symbols and numbers. "That's your "big...news," is that you, translated the tablet into...doodles?" He asked disdainfully.  
"It's cuneiform." Kevin replied. When Sam and Dean just looked at him he said. "I-I hit a wall translating it into English. But I found this ancient codex, uh, linking the angel script to proto-Elamite Cuneiform and I was able to translate the tablet and footnotes into Elamite , which...is..."  
"Doodles," Dean finished.  
"It's extinct," Kevin replied.  
"Well, can you read it?" Sam asked.  
"No one can," Kevin admitted, "Scholars have tried for centuries."  
"So it's a dead end?" Dean asked then he slapped the table in disgust as Sam put his sheaf of papers down on the table.  
"N-not quite." Kevin sputtered, "Now, most proto-Elamite is abstract, but I was able to decipher one phrase from Metatron's footnote's. "Falling Angels."  
"Okay, so, the footnotes refer to Metatron's spell?" Sam asked.  
"Maybe." Kevin answered.  
"Okay." Sam said, walking over to the bookshelf, "Well, maybe if we can decipher the footnotes, than we can reverse the spell and..." He removed three of a dozen books from the shelf.  
"Punt those wings dicks back to Heaven." Dean said, slapping the table again, this time ready for action. " Present company excluded, of course. Where do we start?"  
"Research." Sam answered, tossing one book in front of each of the other two.  
Dean's expression was less than thrilled.  
"We comb through the library," Sam continued, "See if we can find anything else on Elimate."  
Dean read the title aloud. " Zimmerman's Encyclopedia Of Extinct Languages...Volume One. How many volumes are there?"  
"24." Kevin answered.  
Dean's mouth opened wordlessly.  
"Don't worry, we've found them all." Kevin said reassuringly, then looked back at his own book.  
"Awesome." Dean said then looked pleadingly over to Sam who cuffed and looked back down at his book.  
Four hours later they still have nothing. Castiel and Heal had joined the group and aside from dividing out the work it added nothing. They even tried calling Professor Morrison but he took a sabbatical amongst the Trobrianders of Papa New Guinea, and therefore unreachable.  
"Is anybody else exhausted?" Kevin asked, his head laid down on a book.  
"I don't even need to sleep and I'm pretty brunt." Sam replied.  
That was when Dean got an idea. "Well, there's one guy who's nothing but well-rested."  
"Crowley?" Sam asked.  
"I'm just saying we're not keeping him changed up for the one-liners." Dean pointed out.  
"It's worth a shot, I guess." Sam replied.  
"Are you sure that's wise?" Castiel spoke up, "We all know he's going to try to get something from us. And he's very good at being manipulative."  
"Don't worry," Dean replied, " We won't fall for any of his "quid pro quo" crap."  
Which is what lead to the entirety of Team Free Will standing in front of Crowley's chair, him staring at the "doodles" of Cuneiform.  
"I've been politely asking for reading material for week, and this is what you bring me?" He said, pushing the paper back to Sam, "Pass."  
"Can you Elamite or not?" Sam snapped.  
"It's by no means my favorite of the ancient tongues, but yes." Crowley confessed.  
"Will you help us read it?" Sam continued.  
"Why on Earth would I?" Crowley asked.  
"Because I was there that night." Sam said, "I saw what humanity did to you, what it's done to you."  
Crowley scoffed.  
"Like it or not now that you're human there's at least a little part of you that's not a douche." Sam finished.  
"Sorry, Moose." Crowley said, "To the last drop."  
Sam got on the table and leaned it over towards the former King Of Hell. "Crowley, the only reason you're alive is because my brother thought you might be useful."  
"Ah, I thought it was because we had a bit of a moral delimia because he was human now." Cas spoke up.  
"That too," Sam admitted, "The point it, so far you've done Jack. " He sighed shaking his head, "Back to plan B I guess." He stood up fully, took the paper and started to walk away, the others beginning to follow him.  
"Which is?" Crowley asked.  
Sam paused. They hadn't actually thought that far ahead.  
"Plan B is we run you through with every weapon we have." Hael said harshly.  
"That seems like a good plan B." Dean commented.  
"Well, there's the stick," Crowley said, "Now what about the carrot?"  
Everyone exchanged looks. "The carrot?" Sam asked.  
"You know," Crowley said, "What do I get if I translate this for you?"  
"Not being stabbed with over two dozen pointy objects." Kevin responded.  
"I still think translating this deserves a little more." Crowley said, "Like maybe being set free."  
There was a pause, then Sam said, "Okay, I think we all need to talk outside for a moment."  
"Isn't this the exact thing we said we wouldn't do?" Cas asked, standing outside the dungeon with the others, "Falling for, as Dean put it Crowley's ''quid pro quo crap'?"  
"Look, we're not doing anything yet," Sam said, "We're just talking about it. It's not exactly like he's a danger to anyone anymore. Apart from being human, any demon loyal to him is either locked up in Hell or dead."  
"So he gets off for everything he did while he was demon?" Dean pointed out, "Including doing terrible things to the people in this very room?"  
"You mean the stuff he's been beating himself up for since we locked him down here?" Sam asked.  
"That's another problem." Kevin spoke up, "Even if he's not evil anymore, he's not exactly the most stable human being."  
Kevin was right. Ever since he was turned into a human there had been two Crowleys: One the smug wheeler-dealer would try to turn any situation to his favor, the other a guilt-ridden mess that would break down and confess his sins to anyone who would listen, usually crying by the end.  
"Might I suggest a compromise?" Cas spoke up.  
Everyone turned to look at him.  
"There's a cabin in the woods near here," Cas said, "We make one of the stipulations of Crowley's release that he move in there at least on a trial basis. That way we can check in one him and make sure he doesn't cause any damage."  
"That's...actually not a bad idea." Dean conceded.  
"So it's decided?" Sam asked, "We put the Crowley on house arrest?"  
Everyone nodded.  
"Alright," Sam said, "Let's go back in there."  
"A cabin?" Crowley balked, "In the woods?"  
"And you translate the notes first." Dean said, taking over.  
"And why would I agree to this?" Crowley asked.  
"'Cause it's the only way you're getting out of here." Kevin spoke up.  
Crowley sighed. "Alright," He surrendered, "Give me the notes."  
Sam slid a piece of paper with some symbols towards Crowley. "What are these?"  
"Ingredients." Crowley teased.  
"More specific." Sam demanded, trying not to take the bait.  
Crowley shoved the paper back. "Ingredients...for a spell."  
"Can we just kill him?" Hael asked.  
Sam shoved the paper towards Crowley again.  
"Heart of a Nephilim." Crowley read in a bore voice, "Cupid's bow. Grace of an angel."  
Kevin handed him a second piece of paper with a variety of symbols. "And the rest of them."  
"Not yet." Crowley said, "You'll get the rest when I get paid. Chains off. Now."  
"No." Dean said, "That was not the deal. The deal was you give it all of it, then we cut you lose."  
"Alright, you can just go to the other person who can read Elamite," Crowley snarked, "Oh, wait, there isn't anyone else."  
Sam face contorted in anger. "Dean," He said, "Pull out you gun."  
Dean did as Sam said as the angel handed Kevin his weapon. "Hael, you got your blade?" Sam asked.  
Hael's blade fell from her sweater sleeve into her hand.  
"Cas?" Sam asked.  
The ex-angel looked for some sort of weapon, then hurried over to the wall and pulled off a hammer.  
"Good," Sam said, then he turned back to Crowley, "Now, I'm gonna take these chains off, then you are going to translate the rest of this, and if you try anything, anything at all, things will get very to the painful, very fast.  
Crowley gulped at he felt a flicker of fear. "Okay," He said, as Sam took off the chains, then went to the business of reading the paper.  
"Obtain the ingredients-heart, bow Grace." Crowley begin reading, "Blah, blah, blah. Mix until the smoke shall rise from the ashes casting the angels from Heaven. Blah, blah-oh. It's irreversible."  
Everyone froze with shock.   
"What?" Sam said finally.  
"This spell can't be undone." Crowley elaborated, "This is the new world order-we're stuck with it."


	15. Fallout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team deals with the fallout from Crowley's revelation.

After that revelation, everyone, save Crowley, left the dudgeon and just sat around the table in silence.  
"Well, there's no way." Dean spoke at last, "Crowley's lying."  
"No, Dean, not this time." Sam replied, "Look. Metatron built the spell to withstand any attempt to reserve it. There is no putting the angels back into Heaven. It's done."  
"But there has to still be something we can do." Castiel interjected, "Someway to help."  
"Do you know how ridiculous you sound?" Hael scoffed quietly, then got louder as she continued, "Help angels? After what you did? They don't want your help, Castiel." She rose up from seat as she said, "They don't want help from any of you. They want your head. They should want all of yours heads because this is all your faults, he's just the one who shares the most blame." She pointed to Castiel, "So instead of trying to handle us, why don't you just leave us alone!" She slammed her fists on the table, then ran from the room and out the front door with tears in her eyes.  
There was heavy silence for a moment, then Kevin stood up, saying, "I'll go talk to her."  
"Kevin, no." Sam said quickly, grabbing the prophet's wrist, "She's still dangerous, and really angry right now."  
"All the more reason to go after her." Kevin said, "Look, she still probably likes me, right? I mean, I didn't do anything that made the angels fall." Noticing Cas out of the corner his eye, he added quickly, "No offense."  
"None taken." Cas replied. Because I deserve it. I deserved every word she said, too.  
"Look, she's still our friend," Kevin reasoned, "She's just in a bad a place right now. So I'm going after her and you can't stop me."  
Sam let go of Kevin's wrist. "You're right." He conceded, "Go."  
Kevin burst through the bunker door and discovered that Hael hadn't made it that far. In fact she only made it to the street. The female angel was sitting on her legs and hands, crying her eyes out, her hair a dark curtain covering her face. She was so distraught she didn't even notice the teenage prophet walk over to her until she felt him pulling her hair away and saw his face.  
Kevin slightly wiped her tears away saying, "You need some help up? Unless you want my head on a pike, too."  
"I never said anything about a pike." Hael said as he allowed Kevin to help her to her feet, "And no, I don't. I don't really want anyone's head on anything. I'm just so scared down here. I know it might look like it, but I am, and the thought of being stuck here...I just snapped."  
"Come here." Kevin said, pulling the angel into a hug.  
"At least in Heaven-there was order." Hael said, forming new tears, "There was purpose."  
"Well, maybe down here you can find a new purpose, with us." Kevin suggested.  
As they broke their embrace Hael asked, "Do you'll think the others will still want be around after what just happened?"  
"Are you kidding?" Kevin replied, "After all the crap they've forgiven each other for, you're little outburst ain't nothing. But when did I forget how to use proper grammar?"  
Hael laughed a little.  
"Come on, " Kevin said, "Let's go before we get hit by a car."  
Meanwhile inside, Sam, Dean and Castiel were having their own talk. "Cas, you know she didn't mean it." Dean said, sitting next to the ex-angel, "Well, probably not, at least."  
"Whether she meant it or not she's right." Cas replied solemnly, "All this-it's my fault. I should have known Metatron was manipulating me, I should have listened to Naomi."  
"Okay," Dean begin, " First, Naomi gave you thousands of lobotomies, brainwashed you into an angelic Manchurian Candidate, and let's not even discuss how many other angel's head she'd been in erasing memories form including yours, and doing God knows what else. Even if she had changed because of what she saw in Metatron's head, you had absolutely no reason to trust her. No one did."  
"You did." Castiel pointed out.  
"Yeah, well, I'm not sure how much of it was trust, and how much of it was not wanting to gamble my brother's life in case this was one time she was telling the truth. And as it turns out, at the very least she had her information a little skewed. And, the whole point of manipulating someone is that you don't know you're being manipulated. We didn't see he was evil, either. Look, you may shoulder some of the blame for what happened, but what's done is done and there's no point in beating yourself up about it, okay?"  
"Okay, Dean," Cas replied, "I'll try to take your advice."  
"Good." Dean said, giving Cas a gentle slap on the shoulder.  
"You'd do well to remember it next time you're blaming yourself for something." Cas added as Dean started to get up.  
Dean froze and was about to respond when the door opened and Kevin and Hael stepped through it. "I think we're good now." Kevin said.  
However as the pair walked down the stairs everyone felt on edge. As Hael walked up to Cas, the ex-angel went stiff in his seat like a frightened rabbit. "Castiel," She began, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said before."  
"No, you were right," Cas replied, soberly, "This...this is our fault, particularly mine, and maybe, maybe we should just stay out of it."  
"What did we literally just talk about?" Dean said, a bit exasperated.  
Hael, however, had her own approach. She took Cas' hands and pulled him to his feet then wrapped his arms around him, startling him a little. "Uh, Hael," He began awkwardly, "What are you doing?"  
"I'm not sure but when Kevin did this with me I felt a little better." Hael explained.  
Sam laughed a little, shaking his head.  
"You fixed an angry angel with a hug?" Dean asked.  
"Well, we talked some, too." Kevin replied awkwardly.  
Dean turned his to Sam and commented, "Maybe we've been doing it wrong all these years. That or the kid's the freakin' angel whisperer."  
Cas gently pushed Hael away saying, "Maybe you should go clean up. You're, uh, covered in gravel, and tears."  
It was true, Hael's leggings and skirt were stained with lose rocks from the road, as well and the elbows of her sweater, and her face was still slick from the tears Kevin hadn't whipped away. "Alright, " She said, heading towards the hallway with the shadows.   
Later on the night Sam was walking around the bunker, something he had taken to doing a lot since he didn't need sleep anymore, when he heard something in the library. He went towards the noise and saw a light on. "What the-" He thought, then as he came closer he saw Dean sitting at some of the tables with a stack of books in front of him. "Dean?" He asked. When Dean turned around to look at him Sam added, "What are you doing up?"  
"Well, what are you still doing up?" Dean shot back.  
"I don't sleep anymore, remember?" Sam offered for an explanation.  
"Oh, yeah, right." Dean said, "I had actually forgot." Dean still sometimes forgot Sam was angel. It was just that other than his powers, he still acted just like human Sam, it was easy to forget they weren't the same species anymore.  
"Did you forget you need sleep, too?" Sam half-joked, "Seriously, man, what are you doing up?"  
"I was trying to see if there's any feasible plan B for the angel situation." Dean admitted, "Like, I don't know, get them in one area and set an electric fence around them or something."  
"Let's call that plan C." Sam said, sitting down beside his brother, "Or maybe even plan D. Look, I know you're stressed because we can't the angels back into Heaven, I am too, but depriving yourself of sleep is not gonna help the situation. And it's not like we have nothing, we have the map."  
"And what are we gonna do when that map starts lighting up?" Dean asked, "Sure, right now it's quiet, but sooner or later they're gonna start pulling crap, then what are we gonna do?"  
"Cross that bridge when we come to it," Sam said, "Now, are you gonna go to bed or am I gonna have to knock you out?"  
"I'd like to see you try." Dean challenged.  
Sam sighed then started to move his hands towards Dean's forehead, two fingers together.   
"Okay, okay," Dean said, batting Sam's hand away, "I get the point." Standing up, he added, "I'm going, I'm going."  
Still, Sam followed Dean all the way back to his room, and sat down by the door as Dean got in his bed. Even after he was asleep Sam just sat down because, for some reason, he felt the need to watch over everyone tonight.


	16. Back To Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jody calls the boys for help, leading to them being in a ....different situation.

A week later all was still quiet, which left the team with time to try to come up with an alternative plan for the angels, or at the very least double check in case Crowley was lying. At one point Sam and Dean had left on a case for an old friend of Dean's but other than that everyone had been completely devoted to research.  
Which is why Dean came into the bunker one morning to find Sam pouring over a stack of books. "Hey." Dean said, as he poured himself a cup coffee.  
"Hey." Sam replied, not looking up from the book he was currently engrossed in.   
"You okay?" Dean asked, sitting beside Sam with his coffee.  
"Yeah," Sam answered, "Just...uh....going through all this. Um, how's Kevin? He, uh--find anything?"  
"Uh, Jack." Dean replied, "On about four days no sleep. Which I guess is better than Cas who passed out about an hour ago, and Ms. Tran is completely wired from way too much coffee. I swear, the only two people about to not completely crack from sleep deprivation are you and Hael."   
"Huh." Was Sam's response, "What about Crowley? Has, ah, anyone checked one since we got back?"  
"No." Dean admitted, "But since the last time we checked on him he was trying to catch fish with a embororiry floss I don't think he's much of a threat to anyone."  
"Good point." Sam replied, "But since it happened before his, uh, nervous breakdown, um, do you think he could might had been lying about the whole, uh, "Metaron's spelling being irreversible" thing?"  
"Oh, Crowley lie?" Dean said sarcastically, "I do know one thing. The way his metal state is going I'm really glad he still doesn't know where the bunker actually is."  
Just then Dean's cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered. "Hello?"  
"Hey, Dean." A familiar female voice said on the other end of the line, "Jody Mills."  
"Sheriff Mills." Dean said, before sitting the phone down and putting it on speaker, "Hang on. Sam's here, too."  
"Hey, Jody." Sam called out.  
"Hey, Sam." Jody replied, "Uh...I got a bit of an oddball here to pitch in your direction."  
"Shoot." Dean said.  
"A small town I cover outside of Sioux Falls--only crime to speak of being the occasional cow tipping." Jody begin, "Then last week...four people go missing."  
"All right," Dean responded, "So, what makes you think this is our kind of weird?"  
"I've got a witness who says he saw someone lift an S.U.V. to nab a girl last night." Jody countered.  
The boys were silent a moment. "We'll be on our way." Dean said finally.  
"Alright, we're gonna be back as soon as we can." Dean said to the others who were staying a few minutes later as he and Sam were heading out the door, "While we're gone please don't throw a party."  
"Why would we do that?" Cas asked.  
"I was kidding." Dean deadpanned, "But in all seriousness would someone check in on Crowley while we're gone?"  
"I think we can manage that." Cas promised.  
"Good." Dean said, "See you guys later. " Then he shut the door behind them.  
A few hours later when the boys pulled up next to Casey's Great Plains Diner Jody was already waiting for them. The parked next to the truck and when the boys got out they both hugged the Sheriff in turn.  
"Sheriff." Dean said, "Lying off the blind dates, I hope."  
"Yeah." Jody replied, "You bite your tongue, boy."  
"Hey." Sam added in, as he embraced the woman, "So?"  
"So." The Sheriff repeated, "Car was right over there, ass over tea kettle. Now, normally , if somebody told me that one guy lifted an S.U.V. , I'd tell him to take a flying leap, but after what I've seen..."  
"Nothing's impossible." Sam finished.  
"Uh-huh." Jody confirmed.  
"And this matches up to the other missing how?" Dean asked.  
"Well, four abductions, strong evidence left at every scene--literally." Jody explained.  
"So, the first vic was a pastor?" Sam interjected.  
"Yeah." Jody confirmed, "Door of his study was punched in. And the next two--engaged couple."  
"Locked bedroom was ripped open." Dean added.  
Mm-hmm." Jody confirmed, "And then we have our waitress with the topsy-turvy ride."  
"Any other connection among them?" Jody asked.  
"Yeah." Jody answered, "They were all members of Good Faith Church here. My, uh, my church back in Sioux Falls was in a tizzy over it."  
"Hmm." Dean mused.  
"What?" Jody asked.  
"I didn't peg you for chruchy." Dean replied.  
"Yeah." Jody said, "You know...chocking on a ladies' room floor 'cause of witchcraft kind of makes a higher power seem relevant."  
That brought Dean to his next point. "Jody, are you sure you're ,uh, ready to jump back into the fray?"  
"This wackadoo stuff keeps coming." Jody reasoned, "More I know, better armed I'll be."  
"Okay, so, we have, uh, missing church people and super strength." Sam recapped, "Maybe angels harvesting vessels? Maybe their getting desperate enough to kidnap people."  
“Angels?” Jody asked, “You’re joking.”  
"Don't get your pants on fire." Dean cautioned, "They suck."  
Sam shot Dean a hurt look and Dean gave him an apologetic one back. "Man, Sam is sensitive about that." Dean thought.  
"You said there was a witness." Sam said, trying to move on.  
"Yeah, well...more or less." Jody admitted.  
This lead to the brother sitting in a booth at the dinner as Jody and a homeless man named slim joined them.  
"Okay, Slim." Jody said, "My friends here want to talk to you about the missing girl."  
"Honor." Slim replied, "Her name was Honor. Nice girl. Always left me meatloaves."  
"Mm." Dean mused.  
"Slim, why don't you tell us what you saw last night?" Sam requested.  
"I heard a big noise, got woke, and there's somebody over there lifting a car up--like this." Slim lifted his hand above his head.  
"And did you happen to see who it was?" Dean asked.  
"It was too far." Slim admitted, "But I saw a light go off."  
"A white light?" Sam asked.  
"Blue." Slim replied, "Blue like fire. But not. Then she was--she wasn't there."  
"Could you think of anything else?" Dean interjected.  
"No." Slim replied.  
"Okay." Dean responded, "Well...Slim, thank you for your time." He then took out his wallet and handed Slim a 20 dollar bill. Slim took it and left.  
"Okay." Sam began once Slim was gone, "So no white light."  
"No angel." Dean finished, "Has anybody talked to the victim's families?"  
"It's next on my list." Jody answered.  
"Okay, and you said that they were all part of the same church?" Dean continued.  
"Mm-hmm." Jody confirmed.  
Dean turned to Sam and asked, "Ready to get your worship on?"  
That how they wound up at the Good Faith Church, sitting at large desk across from a neatly dressed young woman with auburn hair.  
"We hope you enjoyed the tour." She was saying, "Any questions before we get you boys registered?"  
"Uh, yeah, uh, look, um. Ms. Futchko-" Sam rambled.  
"Oh, please...Bonnie will do just fine." She replied.  
"Bonnie." Sam repeated, "Okay, um, we...love the church. We do. But...Well, we've heard that a few members have gone missing, and to be honest...that kind of scares us."   
"Let me assure you, with our increase security, Good Faith had never been safer." Bonnie replied, "And those people who have gone missing, well, they are front and center in our prayers."  
"What a relief." Dean spoke up, pretending to be put at ease, "Now, you must have been, uh, close to them."  
"Well, we do share the A.P.U. bond." Bonnie admitted.  
"The A.P.U?" Dean asked.  
"Our chastity group...'Abstinence Purifies us'" Bonnie explained.  
"Oh." Sam said, surprised and kind of wishing they brought one of the others, who were actually virgins, with them, "W-wow. You mind if we sit in on that, maybe see if it's for us?"  
"I'm afraid it's members only." Bonnie replied, "I'm sorry, but it can get pretty personal."  
"Then count us in." Sam said.  
"Well." A please Bonnie said, "I'll be squirrel in a skirt. I'll be back in a jiff with the papers."  
After Bonnie left, Dean leaned over to Sam and asked, "A chastity group?"  
"Dean, listen, if all the members were in A.P.U., then maybe whatever took them is stalking virgins." Sam reasoned.  
"And that Slim guy said he thought he saw fire." Dean recalled, "So what are you thinking, dragons?"  
"Mm." Sam began, but then he looked up to see Bonnie returning and warned, "Sshh."  
"All righty." Bonnie said, handing both of the boys clip boards, "You can just sign here, and your purification can begin."  
"'Purity Pledge?'" Sam read aloud.  
"It's commitment to your virginity." Bonnie explained.  
"I don't think we can really un-ring that bell." Dean said, "You know what I mean?"  
"Oh." Bonnie said, taken aback a little, "I see. Well...If you just ask for God's forgiveness for your sins and make a new vow of chastity, well, then, you'll be born again as a virgin in his eyes."  
"So, you just hit the 'virginity do-over' button, and all is good with the man upstairs?" Dean asked, slightly glib.  
"It's not a button." Bonnie said, looking shocked, "And...this isn't a piece of paper. I mean, this is your clean slate, you chance to be a virgin until marriage."  
"Well, you had me at 'clean slate'." Dean replied, "Let's do this."  
For whatever reason both Sam and Dean signed their real names to the pledge. Then they handed them back to Bonnie.  
"Congratulations, Sam and Dean Winchester." Bonnie said, "You are both virgins."  
"Ah." Sam and Dean said simultaneously.  
Dean smiled sheepishly at Sam.


	17. Lead Us Not Into Temptation (We Can Find It Ourselves)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The brothers infiltrate the chastity group, where Dean encounters an intriguing consular.

The A.P.U. meetings took place in the Sunday school room of the Good Faith Church, which was where Sam and Dean found themselves, the only men in a group of six women.   
"Good afternoon, everyone." The group leader, a woman in her early thirties with blonde hair was saying, "I'm Suzy. I thought we'd begin with a silent prayer for my missing friends."  
Everyone closed their eyes in silent prayer except for Dean who was still watching everyone. Sam noticed and cleared his throat. Dean quickly ducked his head.  
"Amen." Suzy finished, "Now, does anyone have anything they would like to share?"   
A young woman stood up, saying, "I wrote a new piece of verse. It's called 'Sex is a racket and God's tennis ball is in your court.'"  
"And we would love to hear that, Tammy--later." Suzy replied, "Why don't we here from out new friends? Sam, what brought you here to reclaim your virginity?"  
"Well, I guess because every woman I've ...ever...had relations with, uh..."Sam was struggling for words as every encounter he ever had flashed before his eyes and he realized that, in fact, half of them ended in some sort of serious bodily harm, "it...hasn't ended well."  
"He ain't lying." Dean chuckled.  
"Thank you for being here, Sam." Suzy said, either not hearing or choosing to ignore Dean's comment, "Stay strong. Stay pure."  
"Stay strong. Stay pure." All the women repeated in unison.  
"And you, Dean?" Suzy asked, "What set you on the path away from sin?"  
"Uh, hard to say exactly." Dean replied, "Yeah. Sex has always felt--I don't know--good, you know? I mean, really, really good." Then he realized who he was talking to, "Uh...But, uh...Sometimes it just makes you feel bad, you know? You're drunk. You shack up." Dean smile, "Then it's the whole morning thing. You know, 'Hey, that was fun.' And then 'adios' you know? Always the 'adios'." He looked wistful, "But, you know, when you get down to it, what's the big deal, right? I mean, sure, there's the touching and the feeling all of each other, my hands everywhere, tracing everything inch of her body, the two of us moving together, pressing and pulling...grinding."  
All the women started to shift uncomfortably, unless they were getting turned on, and in some cases both.  
Dean didn't seem to notice, continuing, "Then you hit that sweet spot and everything just builds and build until it all just..." He finished by making an exploding noise.  
Tammy crushed her paper with the written voice in her lap. Sam cleared his throat again while giving him the bitchface.  
"Yeah." Dean said, getting the point, "Uh...But the whole thing was just a little too, uh...sticky. So, uh, I got my 'V' card back." He slapped his leg, "The end."  
After the meeting as the women put up the chairs, Sam decided to talk to Dean about his very detailed statement. "Hm." He began, "So, um...Wee bit of an over share, Dean?"  
"I was purifying," Dean replied, "Hey, she look familiar to you?"  
Sam turned around and saw Dean was looking at the group leader. "Suzy?"  
"Yeah." Dean confirmed, "Swear I know her from somewhere."  
"Oh, good, Dean." Sam said, exasperated, "'Cause that line never fails."  
"Well let's find out." Dean said, leaving in pursuit of Suzy.  
At about the same time Bonnie rushed up and tapped Sam on the shoulder. "Hey." He said, turning around to look at her.  
"So?" Bonnie asked hopefully.  
"So?" Sam repeated.  
"How did you like the meeting?" Bonnie elaborated.  
"Oh, I-I-I-I loved it." Sam managed to get out, "Yeah. Um, you know, I-I couldn't help but think of those who weren't here."  
"Oh." Bonnie replied, "Honor. She's my favorite."  
Tammy overheard them and got angry. At the same time Bonnie noticed another A.P.U. member stuffing cookies into a napkin for later.  
"Would you excuse me?" Bonnie said, going off to scold the woman.  
Tammy approached Sam, saying, "Her favorite? She has no idea what kind of girl Honor is."  
"You don't say." Sam replied, recognizing the opportunity and seizing it, "Uh, Tammy, right? The poet?"  
"Mm-hmm." Tammy offered for an answer.  
"Tammy, why--why don't, um, you why don't you tell me what kind of girl Honor is?" Sam suggested.   
Meanwhile, Dean was homing in his pray. "Are you sure we don't know each other?" He was asking.  
"Yeah, I-I'm pretty sure we've never met, Dean." Suzy insisted.  
"Hmm." Dean responded.  
"Wait, you're--you're knew to town, right?" Suzy asked.  
"Uh, yeah." Dean answered, "New to town. New to this whole chastity thing."  
"Well, I provide individual counseling." Suzy offered, "If you ever need to talk--"  
"So, everybody in the group, they dish to you?" Dean interrupted.  
"They confide." Suzy corrected, "Abstinence is--it's really tough without support and education. Hey, you know what? I have some great books on the vow that really helped me. I-I live close. I'll just go grab them."  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." Dean said, "With, a, uh, with a kidnapper on the loose?"  
"No, I'll be fine." Suzy assured him.  
"Tell you what--why don't I walk with you just to be safe, okay?" Dean offered, "Just give me a second."  
Meanwhile poor Sam was listening in exasperated silence to Tammy rambling on about Honor and he was almost certain at this point that the girl had nothing germane to the investigation.  
"...And I bake real cookies for the bake sale." Tammy was saying, "Honor just brings Oreos!"  
"Oh." Sam said, deciding to find a way out of this conversation, "You know what? Excuse me."  
As Sam fled Dean walked up to him, grinning. "Guess who's taking the teacher home." He said, then giving a straight face added, "Research."  
"You really think you're gonna hit that?" Sam questioned, "Dean, she's the chastity counselor."  
"Yeah, I know." Dean said, as if his quest was something to be proud of, "What about you? Any luck?"  
"You mean am I actually working?" Sam quipped, "As a matter of fact, yes, I am."  
"All right, well, good luck with that." Dean said, then he walked back to Suzy. "Okay." He told her, "Lead the way."  
"Okay." Suzy replied.  
Sam turned back to Tammy with a resigned look. "Hey." He said, "Sorry. So, where were we?"  
"Honor is going to Hell." Tammy answered.  
"I don't think bringing pre-baked cookies to the bake sale is a damnable offense." Sam thought.  
Jody was in the hotel room typing on a laptop when Sam arrived. "Hey."  
"How was church?" Jody asked.  
"Well, it turned into confessional." Sam answered, "Apparently, two of our vics, Honor and Pastor Fred, did the dirty."  
"Oh, well." Jody said, more than a bit surprised, "They're not the only ones. Barb Blanton, our missing bride to be--"  
"Yeah?" Sam perked up.  
"Her mom said she heard Barb and her fiancé in Barb's bedroom." Jody finished.  
"Going at it?" Sam asked.  
"Well, she said she heard sex noises, then Barb crying, then Neil telling Barb it didn't count because it was under 30 seconds."  
Sam chuckled.  
"And then, two hours later, she heard a smash and saw a flash of light under the door." Judy finished.  
"Blue light?" Sam asked.  
Jody nodded. "You know, I'm thinking whatever this thing is, it's not going after virgins, even born-again virgins."  
"It's taking virgins who break their chastity vow." Sam said, "So dragons are off the list."  
"I'm sor-dragons?" Jody balked, "Those are a thing?"  
"Yeah." Sam confirmed, "Too many things are things."  
Meanwhile, Suzy and Dean had just arrived at the latter's apartment.  
"Make yourself comfortable." Suzy said.  
Dean watched Suzy take off her hoodie, revealing the camisole she was wearing underneath. She sat down on the couch with her back to Dean. Just then his cell phone rang and he saw it was Sam, who had called to try to warn Dean against what he was trying to do. Not knowing that, Dean silenced the call saying, "Not now, Cato."  
Dean approached Suzy on the couch and noticed that she was crying. "I can't stop thinking about my friends." She explained, "I'm so scared for them. Would you pray with me, Dean?"  
"Sure." Dean said, looking as uncomfortable as he felt, before sitting down next to Suzy.  
Meanwhile, back at the hotel, Sam had resorted to trying Dean's other cell phone. He got his voice mail. "This is Dean's other, other cell, so you must know what to do."  
"Dean." Sam said, his stress starting to show through, "Come on, call me."  
Jody looked at Sam with a motherly. "You know, for being born again today, you sure look like crap."  
Suddenly a possibly he hadn't considered before dawned on Sam. "Wait a second. Did you...get--"  
"Born again?" Jody finished for him.  
"Yeah." Sam confirmed.  
"Oh, Sam." Jody smiled, "I don't make promises I can't keep. It's just...I enjoy church. I mean, after...after Bobby, Crowley...I needed something that made sense to me--you know, comfort, I guess."   
"Yeah, I guess we're all looking for that." Sam reasoned.  
"Except those that got it." Jody commented.  
Sam looked puzzled.   
"Come on." Jody said, "You and Dean? That's something special, don't you think? "  
Sam looked at the window and shrugged. Though, if he was being honest, Dean had been great through this whole angel thing. Hell, he basically did his best to be a one-man support system, which Sam greatly appreciated.   
He just wished he would pick up his damn phone.  
Back at the apparent, Suzy was bending down to get books from the shelf, causing her cami to ride up, showing her lower back. Dean rolled his eyes and tried to look away. She then stood up with a stack of eight books.  
"Okay." Suzy said, handing Dean the stack, "So, why don't you breeze through these and I'm gonna head to the little girls' room."  
"Mm, yeah." Dean said, wondering how anyone could thick the stack in his hands was breeze-able.  
Suzy left and Dean walked over to the entertainment center and sat the books down as his cell phone rang. He hit the answer button but before he could lift the phone to his ear he noticed a crack drawer with some DVDs in it. He opened the door wider and was shocked to fine two Casa Erotica DVDs with pictures of a blonde woman in a bright outfit that left little if anything to the imagination holding maracas. He was holding them in his hand, staring at them when Sam tried to get his attention from the phone, by saying, "Hey. Dean? Hey, Dean? Are you there?"  
At that point Dean made the connection that the over-half naked girl on the DVD was Suzy. So that's where I've seen her before.  
"Hello?" Sam continued, "Dean? Dean?"  
Dean finally snapped out of his shock and raised the phone to his ear. "Sammy!" He said, trying to pretend like everything was fine, "Hey."  
"What's going on?" Sam asked mildly concerned.  
"I found something big." Dean replied.  
"Yeah." Sam responded, "So did we. So, get's this--it's not a dragon."  
"Uh-huh." Dean murmured, still readying the DVD covers and only halfway paying attention, Uh--ooh."  
"Dean?" Sam asked, no clue what was going on.  
"Copy that." Dean said, then quickly hung up as he heard Suzy coming back. He tried to hind the DVDs behind his back as he turned around to face her.  
"Hey." Dean said, then unable to help himself, added, "Or should I say...'Hola'?"  
"Uh, why?" Suzy asked, genuinely confused.  
"No reason." Dean said, trying to keep his cool, "No reason."  
"A-are you okay?" Suzy asked.  
"Me?" Dean replied, "Ah--I'm great. Why?"  
"Uh, you seem...I-I don't know, nervous."Suzy explained.  
Laughing nervously, Dean replied, "Nervous? No. I'm not nervous...Carmelita."  
Suzy's face fell in resignation. "So, you've seen my...work. Listen, I don't blame you if you want to be assigned to a new counselor. I-I get it."  
"No." Dean said firmly, "No, no. Are you--are you kidding me? I mean you're--you're a freaking legend."  
"No!" Suzy exclaimed, in panic, I-I am--I'm not the girl anymore. I moved here. I changed my name. That girl was--horrible."  
Dean interrupted her, saying, "Listen, uh, Suzy, I've seen a lot of awful things, stuff of nightmares, okay? But you--you're the good dreams."  
Suzy smiled slightly. The statement was oddly flattering.  
"And nobody in Hartford knows?" Dean asked.  
"Yeah, what am I suppose to say?" Suzy pointed out, "'Oh, hey, I used to be a porn star. Let's pray?' "  
"Well...they do not appreciate you." Dean replied, "I mean...the things you can do--the scene with the tacos."  
Suzy's smile got wider. "Yeah."  
"Made me want to join a mariachi band just to be near you." Dean admitted.  
Suzy looked at Dean enticingly. "Well, you are now."  
Dean suddenly comprehended what she was saying. I am, aren't I?"  
Suzy moved in on Dean, feeling her resolve slip away. "You're not like...the other guys in town, are you?" She asked, "You're kind of a...a bad boy."  
"I don't know." Dean replied, "Why don't you ask me that in Spanish?"  
"Eres un Chico malo?" Suzy repeated.  
"Si." Dean answered.  
Suzy quickly closed the gap between them and kissed Dean passionately. Dean pulled her head in and hungrily kissed her back...  
A little while later, back at the hotel, Sam had a horrible feeling Dean was doing something that was very dangerous in this town had finally made the decision to take drastic action.  
"Okay, Jody," He said, standing up from the table, "I'm about to do something that's going to shock you, but this thing is taking people who break their vows and it's been over an hour since we heard from Dean and Suzy."  
Jody leapt up for her jacket.  
"You won't need that." Sam said, "I promise I'll explain everything when I get back." Then he took off.  
Sam landed in the apartment living room, only to find it deserted. "Dean?!" He called out, "Suzy?!" But he got no response.  
He was too late.


	18. Smiting A Goddess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Jody do battle with Vesta.

After finding his brother and the consoler gone Sam called Jody, and after sitting her down and explaining everything, they split up, Sam searching the apparent, Jody talking to the neighbors.  
"Hey. " He said as Jody re-entered the apartment.  
"Hey." The still slightly stunned law officer replied.  
"Neighbors see anything?" Sam asked.  
"Flash of blue." Jody answered.  
"Huh." Sam said.  
"You sure Dean was here?" Jody asked.  
Sam held up the DVDs. "Oh, yeah. And I think he crossed something off his bucket list."  
Not finding any other leads, Sam and Jody regrouped at the hotel, trying to find anything that appeared in blue fire. That was when a voice started to ring out in Sam's head. "Sam, it's me, Dean. Listen, I screwed up and now me and Suzy and locked down in some kind of cellar. The others are now down here, too, except for Fred, apparently this thing took him, too. It was too bright for the others to see, Honor said it was like it was on him. It took my phone and my spare couldn't get enough bars, so I really hope this works."  
"Hey." Jody said, getting his attention, "Virgins, fire-sound familiar?"  
Sam read over her shoulder aloud, "'Vesta, Roman Goddess of the Hearth.'''  
"In ancient Rome, six virgins were dedicated to this chick every year." Jody explained, "Their main duty was to tend to Vesta's heart."  
"Wait, so, fire is a symbol of virginity?" Sam asked.  
"Yeah, the girls had to be pure because fire is the symbol for purity." Jody answered.  
"Huh." Sam said, "Okay, as long as Vesta's fire was kept lit, Rome received a good harvest."  
"The virgins had to stay for 30 years." Jody continued, "If they broke their vows, they were buried alive."  
"That goes with what Dean just said." Sam replied, "He said they were underground."  
"What are you-" Jody began before it hit her, "People actually pray to you?"  
"Not very often." Sam said, then he remembered something Castiel had mentioned to him once. "I think I know how to find them." He pulled out his cell phone and got the dial tone. "Come on, Cas, come on."  
"Is it okay if I keep reading until whoever you're trying to get in touch with calls?" Jody asked.  
"Sure." Sam said.  
Jody continued reading aloud, "Vesta was often enveloped in a blue halo of light, which she could control at will to disorient, to main--ohh--or to kill."  
"Okay, what about some way to kill her?" Sam asked urgently, "A-a weapon or--or something."  
Jody went back to typing. Just then Cas answered, "Sam?" He asked.  
"Cas!" Sam explained, "What took you so long?"  
"We just got back from Cowley's." Cas explained, "The good news is he hasn't killed anyone, but mental state had deteriorated some and he's invented fish jerky, which is as terrible as it sounds. Is everything alright?"  
"Not really," Sam replied, "Dean's been taken, but I think I know how to find him. How do I track someone who prays to me?"  
It was a good thing that they were figuring out a way to find the others, because Dean didn't like the way things were going, particularly the hushed conversation Barb and Neil were having in the corner.  
"Don't, Neil." Barb was pleading, "Please don't."  
"Shh. Shh." Neil hushed harshly.  
"Don't do what, Neil?" Dean spoke up.  
"Just mind your beeswax, pal." Neil shot back.  
"Hey." Dean called out, marching to Neil, "Hey! Listen, we're all stuck down here together. So, you got something to say, you say it."  
"Okay, look, whatever that fireball thing was, it's taking the weakest and I am not gonna be next." Neil rationalized, "So, the way I see it, her leg's busted anyway." He motioned to Honor. "We serve her up. It could buy us some time."  
"Screw you, Neil." Honor cursed.  
Enraged, Dean shoved Neil to the wall. "Busted leg?" Dean said, "Try a sprained ankle, okay? Nobody's serving anybody up!"  
"We are under the gallows, all of us." Neil argued," Give it Honor. It might save the rest of our necks, unless you have a better plan."  
"Maybe I do." Dean warned, "Maybe we'll give him you. “ Neil didn’t respond, "Oh, what, you don't like that idea? Then shut up!"  
With sacrificing their fellow captives clearly taken off the table, Dean went to the opposite corner and bowed his head again. "Come one, Sam," He prayed, "It's getting kind of narley down here."  
"Okay, thanks." Sam was saying back at the hotel, "I'll call you when we get back."  
"Maybe I should stay on the line for a little bit longer," Castiel replied, "At least until you get the trace."  
"I think I got it." Sam said, "I think they're at ...some sort of farm."  
"The old Wimmer farm." Jody said, suddenly, then jumped up to leave.  
"Wait, anything on a weapon?" Sam asked.  
Jody checked her laptop again. "Oak stained in virgin blood." She read, "Where are we gonna get a virgin?"  
Sam suddenly realized something. "I'm a virgin!"  
"I think we need the real McCoy here, Sam." Jody smiled, "And it probably needs to be human."  
That was why they had to make a detour to the food bank to find Tammy.  
"You need what?" She asked, looking at them in horror.  
"Your blood." Sam repeated.  
"Just a dab." Jody added.  
"But...Pagans use blood." Tammy concluded, "Are you Pagans?"  
"What?" Sam balked, "Pagan? No, look, it's for a weapon that--"  
"You are in a House of God." Tammy declared, "Your psycho rituals aren't gonna fly here!"  
"Okay, we don't have time for this." Sam said.  
"I don't have time for devil worshippers!" Tammy retorted, "I'm calling the cops."  
Fed up, Jody punched Tammy. "I am the cops."  
"What the fudge, lady?!" Tammy exclaimed, trying to stop her bleeding nose.  
Jody wiped some of the blood from Tammy's face. "Wipe your nose dear."  
Having got what, they came for Sam grabbed Jody by the arm and teleported, leaving a stunned Tammy in their wake.  
Sam was getting better at flying and they arrived right at their destination. "That's gonna take some getting use to." Jody said pulling out her flashlight.  
They glanced around the abandon barn. "Jody," Sam whispered before motioning for her to go one way while she went another.  
Meanwhile underground Honor and Suzy were sitting together, the latter spinning her purity ring on the table.  
"You broke, too, hun?" Honor guessed.  
"Guess I'm not as strong as I thought I was." Suzy replied.  
Honor laid her hand on Suzy's. "God forgives. You told me that yourself."  
Just then there was a banging above Dean's head.  
"Told you." Neil said, freaking out, "It's back for one of us! What are you gonna do now? Right, you should have listened to me--"  
"Shh!" Dean snapped, "Shut up!"  
"Jody!" Sam called out after finding the trap door.  
"Sam?" Jody replied, heading back in his direction.  
"Dean!" Sam shouted, "We're here! We're gonna get you out! Jody, I found it!"  
Dean heard Sam's voice and climbed the ladder to the trap door. He banged on the door, calling out, "Sammy? Sammy! Sammy!"  
"Hey, Dean, we're here." Sam said, "We're gonna get you out."  
Sam started to tear off the door when he was flung into a nearby stall by an invisible force. He looked up, and to his surprise, saw Bonnie standing in front of him.  
"Sammy, are you still there?!" Dean called out, worried.  
"Yeah." Sam called out, trying to pull himself off the floor, "But we got company."  
Just then Jody rushed in and saw Sam in the stall. Before Sam could warn her Bonnie grabbed Jody and shoved her up against a post. She yanked off one of her left gloves with her teeth. "Now, now." She said, "Shh." Her left pointer finger glowed a bright blue.  
"Really?" Jody said, showing no fear, "This is how a goddess acts?"  
That gave Bonnie/Vesta pause. "What?"  
"I'm sort of new to this, but, you know, a Roman deity burying people alive in a barn?" Jody replied, "Sort of pathetic, don't you think?"  
Vesta punched Jody. "It only got pathetic when I had to start doing it myself. Because of the hippie from Bethlehem--before him, they practically threw virgins at me. And now--"  
"They let your fire go out." Jody interrupted, "They forgot about you. Yeah, I know. Sucks to be Lindsey Lohan, doesn't it?"  
Vesta punched Jody again. "Actually, I figured, if you can't beat them, join them. That's right." She threw a trap off a slaughter table covered in blood. " I adapted! Now I chew on the cud of prayer. Heck...I even got a sweater set."  
Meanwhile underground, Dean was running his fingers over the trap door. He found a rusty screw. "Screwdriver, anybody?" He asked.  
Honor found scissors in a kit. "Hey." She said, "From the first aid kit."  
Above ground Vesta threw Jody onto the slaughter table and began harshly tying her down. "Aah!" Jody protested in pain, then she caught Sam sneaking up behind Vesta, something the goddess was too absorbed in her monologue to notice.  
"They use to beg to stay pure for me. And now I have to drag them kicking and screaming. And they're not even real virgins. They're born-again. You want to talk about pathetic?"  
"Yeah." Jody replied, "You're a real charity case."  
"Oh, no, sweetheart." Vesta seethed, "This isn't charity. I take what I deserve."  
Just then Sam put a hand on the back of her head and Vesta's eyes suddenly burst into blue flame. She let out a terrified, pain scream and fell to the ground.  
Jody sat up, untying herself, "Is she..." She began hopefully.  
Just then the eyeless Vesta shot up feeling around the room for Jody and/or her attacker. It was actually rather disturbing. "What did you-" The goddess rasped, "How-"  
Acting fast Jody pulled out the stake from her jacket, leapt off the table and stabbed Vesta in the chest. This time her entire face burst into brilliant blue flame and she fell to the ground, dead.  
Just then Dean finally popped the trap door open. "What did I miss?" He asked, looking around.  
The next morning at the hotel Jody was packing her things. "Heading out?" Sam asked when he saw her.  
Sam hugged Jody. Dean walked to her and repeated this action. "Thanks for bailing me out."  
"Oh, what can I say?" Jody replied, "I'm getting the hang of this."  
"Drive safe." Sam advised.  
"Thanks." Jody said, hanging out the door, "Don't get the door for me or anything."  
Sam sighed heavily and sat on the bed. Despite his best effort to, he couldn't stop thinking about Vesta's death and the failed smiting. At least he hoped it had failed. He knew smiting hurt, that it was grisly, but he thought at least it was suppose to be quick. Just one burst of power and the victim was gone. But Vesta, Vesta had lingered, blind and in pain. Sam wasn't even sure how much damage he had even actually done. If Jody hadn't staked her, who knows how long it would've took.  
Seeing something was clearly brothering his brother, Dean asked, "What's up?"  
"What if there still is something wrong with me, Dean-something...really, really wrong?" Sam asked.  
"What do you mean?" Dean asked.  
"Vesta," Sam explained, "I smote her, and there was damaged, but she didn't die. And what damage I did do...by the time Jody got her it was a mercy killing."  
"Well, from what I've seen, smiting isn't exactly pretty," Dean reasoned, "And if was your first time, and she was a goddess, a weak Pagan goddess, but still. I'm sure those factors had some sort of an effect. I'm sure you'll get better at it."  
That wasn't exactly comforting as far as Sam was concerned.  
"That wasn't what you wanted to hear, was it?" Dean guessed shaking his head and sitting down next to his brother.   
"That I'm going to get better at utterly destroying?" Sam responded, "Not really, no."  
Dean took a minute to think then said, "It won't be like that, okay? Because you-you are not like other angels. You think and feel, and will only use your powers for good, and not other angel’s idea of good, human’s idea of good, you understand. But you got to have a little faith, Sammy."  
"Um, faith in what, exactly?" Sam asked, genuinely having no clue what Dean meant with that last statement.  
"In yourself," Dean said, "In all of us. No way is you turning into a death machine on our watch. Trust me, if you ever start going native, we will drag you back to your senses kicking and screaming. Seriously I will put you in a ring of holy fire in the dudgeon, cover the dudgeon with angel warding and barricade the door if I have to."  
"How weird are our lives that I find that actually comforting?" Sam asked.  
"They might have to invent a new scale." Dean said, standing up and starting to pack. Sam wearily picked up his own bag and headed for the door, still worried about what the future might hold, but a bit more confident that they could handle it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm going out of town for a few feet and I don't know if I'll be able to update or not from where I am. But when I get back I'll start right back where we left off.


	19. The Massacre

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While investigating an angelic murder, Sam has an unexpected confrontation.

Part II: The Gathering  
It was the middle of the night and a two-car procession was heading down the highway. The first car was the Impala, which held Sam, Dean, Cas and Hael. The other held the Trans.  
It had all started when Sam found what reports of what looked like some sort of angelic massacre online. When Castiel heard them talking about it he wanted to come along. Dean had been unsure at first, but together Sam and Cas had convinced them that the latter had enough training and could handle himself. Hael had also heard about in insisted on going and Kevin said she wasn't going without him and Linda said he wasn't going without her. The trio was hesitant, but the others convinced as they have had relative training, and they agreed to let them come if they stayed in the car.  
The trio got out of the Impala dressed in suits. Cas ducked back a second to look at Hael and said, "Keep an eye on those two, okay? Ms. Tran had a tendency to take inittive, and it usually gets them both into trouble."  
"Don't worry." Hael said, "I will."  
"And get us, if something unexpected happens." He instructed.  
Hael sighed, wishing they trusted her more to handle herself, but nodded.  
Satisfied, the three walked up to the cop guarding the road house and flashed their fake FBI badges. The cop gestured with an elbow for them to go inside. When they entered they were greeted with a horrific sight: Over a dozen men lying on the ground, butchered, broken wing imprints spread out around their bodies.  
Dean noticed Cas stiffen out of the corner of his eye. "You know, you don't have to be here," He said, "You can wait with the others. Hell, it might even be a good idea, since you're-pretty much public enemy number one, now."  
"No," Cas replied, firmly, "If angels are slaughtering one another, I have to do what I can to help. It is a risk we should be willing to take, don't you think?"  
Sam shrugged in agreement, seeing the point.  
Changing the subject Castiel pointed to the bodies. "These angels, uh, they were butchered. Much more violence than was required."  
"Definitely took more than one or two killers to pull this off." Sam added.  
"Hit squad?" Dean asked, "Bartholomew's people?"  
"Well, Bartholomew has a faction we know about, but this could be somebody else entirely we don't know." Sam pointed out.  
They covered the whole crime scene, but the angels who had done this had left no clue to their identity. Eventually they decided the best thing to do was regroup and plan out what they were gonna do. Somehow, they wound up at a bar, Sam, Dean, Cas and even Linda sitting down with a beer while the underage Kevin was trying convince the underage appearing Hael to go out on the dance floor with him.  
"Come on," Kevin urged, "Now I know there's a lot going on, especially with what happened to those other angels, but this might just be the thing to get your mind off it."  
"Alright," Hael conceded, allowing him to lead her out onto the dance floor.  
After the pair were far enough away, Dean asked, "Is there something going on between those two?"  
"Don't know," Linda said, looking at the pair somewhat suspiciously, "But I can't help but wonder."  
"You don't sound too happy about the possibility." Castiel observed.  
Linda paused for a minute to gather her thoughts then said, "Look, I like Hael, I do, she's a very nice girl, but-they're not even the same species. And she can fly off the handle sometimes."  
"It was only the one time." Dean pointed out, " And you weren't even there for that."  
Linda shot him a harsh look.  
"All right." Sam said, trying to make an excuse to leave, "I'm gonna get us another round."  
"Nah." Cas said, also sensing the sudden tension, "I'll get it." He hopped off the bar stool and hurried away before anyone could protest.  
"Well, I think I left something in the car." Sam said, heading towards the door, leaving Dean and Linda alone.  
"Those, two, hun?" Dean said nervously, trying to change the subject.  
Sam made it to the car and leaned up against it. He figured he would go back in a few minutes, after everyone had calmed down. In fact, there probably wouldn't even be a fight and everyone was over reacting.  
Then he heard a voice say, "So I guess the rumors are true."  
Sam turned around slowly and saw the angel that had started this whole mess, Metatron standing a few feet away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!  
> Just a quick announcement, school's starting next week and I won't have time to update on Friday, so until further notice all updates will be made on Saturday.


	20. Secrets And Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam becomes a spy.

What rumor?" Sam asked, feigning innocence, as well as being genuinely curious about what rumors were going around about him, and if they could cause him any trouble latter.  
"That Sam Winchester was possessed by an angel,” Metatron replied, "At least, that's the saner rumors. Somehow this outlandish one started that he actually turned into an angel. Really, have you ever heard such?"  
"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." Sam scoffed awkwardly, deciding to hide the truth for now.  
"I am curious though, how did you get in there, and why has no one tried to get you out?" The ex-scribe asked, "I mean, they might have at some point, but from what I've seen they're pretty okay with you."  
Sam told the first story that came to his mind. "He was dying after the trails, I needed a place to stay after the fall, so-the older one facilitated a deal."  
"What, you keep him alive you can stay?" Metatron asked, a little skeptical.  
"At least until he's fully healed." Sam added, "So, ah, what do you want, Metatron?"  
Metaron's eyes narrowed. "How do you know who I am? I never told you."  
Thinking on his feet, Sam said, "You're not the only one who listens to rumors." After a moment he added, "So?"  
"Well, then you probably heard that I was the one who cast the angels out of Heaven." Metaron bragged.  
"Yeah, I heard that." Sam replied, trying to play his cool.  
"And you know, at first I thought I would love it." Metatron continued, "But it's a big place. My solitude is getting tedious."  
"Maybe you should've thought about that before hitting the eject button." Sam quipped.  
"I see the boys are starting to rub off on you." Metatron said flatly, "But, I came up with a plan 'B'. Rebuild Heaven as the place God envisioned it, only with a hand-picked few. No more academic functionaries like Bartholomew. And no more stupid angels. " He considered for a moment then said, "Maybe some funny ones. I was actually looking for someone else to start up my little movement, when I noticed you. Then I had another idea. You seem capable enough, I could use someone like you in my ranks. So, what do you say? Join me?"  
That gave Sam an idea. They could keep an eye on what was going on and topple Metatron from the inside out. "Yes." He paused for a moment, then asked, "So, what happens now?"  
"Now, you go back in there before you missed." Metatron said, "I'll find you when I need you. But don't breathe a word of this to anyone."  
"Of course." Sam said, turning around to go back in.  
"Oh, and what's your name, by the way?" Metatron asked, "I don't think you ever said."  
Sam paused for a moment, then said, "Lot." A lot of angels had Biblical names, didn't they? Lot was as good a Biblical name as any.  
"Never heard of you." Metatron replied.  
Playing on the ex-scribe's need to feel important, Sam lowered his head a bit saying, "I was pretty low on the totem pole, I'm not surprised you don't know me."  
"Well I do now, " Metatron said, "Now go."  
Sam didn't have to be told twice. He rushed back into the bar, bursting through the door, and found the Dean, Cas, and Linda at their table, everything calmed down, and Kevin rather awkwardly moving Hael back and forth on the dance floor.  
Sam hurried up to the table. "Hey, guys," He said, "You won't believe what just happened."  
And so, after gathering them all around him, he told them what had happened with Metatron. Their reactions were mixed.  
"Are you crazy?!" Dean exclaimed, "Dude, you can't decide you're gonna pull an inside job without consulting with your cohorts first! Basic common sense!"  
"There wasn't exactly a lot of time for consulting, Dean." Sam replied, "I had to give him and answer then, and I didn't want to get into a battle on the parking lot."  
"Why not?" Hael asked, "You’re perfectly capable now."  
"It would draw too much attention." Sam offered for an explanation, "Look, at least this way, we can find out what his plans are, what resources he has, and maybe even what other factions there."  
"You have to admit, Dean, he does make a convincing argument." Cas pointed out.  
"I can't believe what I hearing." Dean said, "Did everyone take crazy pills today and forgot to invite me?"  
"Look, Dean, I'm sorry I didn't come get your guys, but what's done is done." Sam spoke up, "We might as well, use it to our advantage."  
"Okay." Dean relented, "So, what when are you two meeting again?"  
"He didn't set a date," Sam said, "Just that he'd get in contact with me when he was ready."  
That turned out to be two days later.   
Sam stood anxiously at the abandoned construction site he had been instructed to meet at when Metatron walking in his direction.   
"Glad to see you showed up." He said.  
"I told you I would." Sam replied. "So, ah, what's the plan?"  
"First off," Metatron began, "I have a few questions for you."  
Sam swallowed.  
"Don't worry, it's nothing bad." Metatron assured him, "It's just, your-intimacy with the Winchesters means that you probably have some pertent information."  
"So that's what he wanted me for." Sam thought, but said aloud, "Alright."  
"First off." Metatron said, "Have they figured out the spell's irreversible?"  
Seeing that no harm would come for the telling him the truth on that one, Sam answered, "Yes, they did a few months ago."  
Metatron looked slightly annoyed, but said, "Well, I suppose there are worst things for them to learn about. So, what are they planning to do about it?"  
"Right, now," Sam said, "Um, just-containment. Keeping us from doing too much damage."  
"Really?" Metatron asked, doubtful, "That’s their plan?"  
"No one really knows what they’re doing here." Sam replied, "We're all kind of making it up at we go along."  
"Okay, seems kosher." Metatron said, "What about the other angel I noticed with the group, the girl? Do you think she could be moved to our cause?"  
"No." Sam said quickly. Hael might be not so sure about most of them, but she wouldn't betray Kevin. Sam knew that for a fact. Maybe he should have lied so they have her on the inside too, but he might also be better off on his own. More experienced at lying.   
"Pity." Metatron said, "Well, I think that about covers everything, except for one. "He turned to face Sam. "Will you join me?"  
"Yes." Sam said, trying to hide his true feeling.  
"Perfect." Metatron said, with an expression of great relief and pleasure, "There's just one more thing I need from you."  
"What?" Sam asked, trying not sound apprehensive. They needed Metatron to believe he had drunk the kool-aid completely.  
"Nothing much," Metatron assured him, "I just need to be sure of your fidelity."  
"You got it." Sam replied.  
"No, I mean really sure." Metatron said, "We have enemies who pose an immediate threat to our effort. They must be neutralized."  
"Killed?" Sam asked, catching on.  
"In a word." Metatron admitted, then he pulled out two yellow cards. "Here's the first name on your to-do list."  
Sam read the name on his card and his heart sunk.   
Seeing he was about to lose him, the ex-scribe commanded firmly, "Decide."   
"I'll do it, of course." Sam lied. Of course, he wasn't actually going to do it, but he didn't want him giving this name to someone who would.   
"Good." Metatron replied, pleased to see that the angel was for all appearances under his control.  
"Now, is that all your needed?" Sam asked, "I should, ah, probably get on this."  
"Really?" Metatron responded, "It's gonna be that easy for you?"  
"No," Sam replied, "Which is why I want some time to...prepare."  
"Alright," Metatron said, "That was all I had to ask you anyway. Contact me when it's done."  
When Sam arrived back at the bunker Dean could tell something had gone wrong. Well, more wrong than he felt this situation already was. "What happened?" He asked, standing up, "Are you hurt?"  
"No," Sam replied, "But we have problem. Metatron gave me a job."  
"What kind of job?" Dean asked, even more worried than he already had been.  
"A hit jobs." Sam said walking to the table.  
"On who?" Dean replied, alarms officially going off.  
Sam laid the card on the table for Dean to see. Dean's heart sunk when he read the name.  
Kevin Tran.


	21. More Secrets And Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team fakes Kevin's death.

"Metatron told you to what?!" Kevin balked when the Winchesters told him the news.  
After reading the card they had decided to gather everyone to explain the situation, thinking Kevin could use the extra support. Now they were starting to wonder if maybe they shouldn't have talked to him alone.  
"I'm assuming you're not actually going to go through with it." Linda spoke up, instinctively pulling Kevin closer to her.  
"Of course not," Sam replied quickly, "We just need to make him think I did."  
"And how are we suppose to do that?" Kevin demanded, starting to freak out.  
"Well, we don't know if he's following Sam or had him followed," Dean spoke up, "So we're going to have to do a little play-acting."  
"Play acting?" Kevin repeated apprehensively.  
"We're going to fake your death." Sam elaborated, "And you're going to have to go into hiding for a little while."  
"Where?" Kevin asked.  
"We went and set a motel room not too far from here." Dean answered, "We got warded so much nothing getting demon, angel, or mineral is getting in."  
"That's all you have?" Linda questioned, "Warding?"  
"We'll be grading him as well," Hael spoke up, "Castiel and I. We'll be grading both of you."  
"Oh, no," Linda protested, "I am not sitting on the side-lines while some angelic has-been comes after my son. I want in on this."  
"Ms. Tran," Sam tried, "This is..."  
"Yes, I know this is dangerous." Linda cut him off, "Yes, I know I'm not as well-trained as you two. Yes, I once got us caught by hiring a witch. But I swear if you don't let me help I will find the most dangerous situation I can and but myself smack dab in the middle of it!"  
The boys realized she had them fairly trapped, as they wouldn’t put it past her. "Alright," Dean conceded, "But only if you do exactly what we tell you, even if that's get yourself to safety."  
"Okay." Linda agreed.  
"One more thing," Sam said, "Kevin, would you mind standing up for a second?"  
Kevin did as Sam instructed then Sam grabbed onto his shoulder. "Okay this is going to...really hurt, so brace yourself, alright?"  
Kevin closed his eyes and suddenly there was a searing pain in his chest, causing him to scream. "What was that?!"  
"It'll make doublely sure he can't find you." Sam explained, "Only thing is I had to crave it into your ribs."  
"Okay, we'll get Kevin set up," Dean began, "Sam, go make contact with the angelic has-been and give him some greatly exaggerated rumors of Kevin's death."  
When Sam got the bar, Metatron was already at the counter. He walked over to him and laid the tablets on the counter. There was some debate about whether to actually meet this demand, but they had no way to forge them, and Sam was going to have an eye on the ex-scribe and what he was doing with them anyway.  
"Welcome home, sweethearts," Metatron said, gathering them up, "So the task I gave you, any hiccups?"  
"No." Sam replied, his voice wavering just a little as he added, "Kevin Tran is dead."  
"He was a threat, " Metatron told him, "But I flipped a switch upstairs, and now that Kevin is gone, there will be no more prophets. And what about Dean Winchester?"  
"Uh, you didn't give me his name." Sam said nervously. It was then he noticed a dark-clothed figure in the far corner of the bar. The figure had a hood up over their head so Sam couldn't make out their face, but he was sure they were watching them.  
"Not much for seizing the intuitive, are we?" Metatron was saying, "Lot, we are writing our own epic story here. To make that work, sometimes you have to kill your darlings. Alright, on to new business. While you were on assignment I went on a little recruitment drive. It did not go as well as I hoped, but I got one yes, and a couple who I'm fairly certain are thinking about it."  
Sam's eyes kept going back to the person in the corner. Yes, he was sure they were watching them now.  
"I'm sorry, am I boring you?" Metatron snapped, realizing he didn't have his "underling's" full attention.  
Lowering his voice, Sam explained, "I think that guy is watching us." Then he pointed to the corner.  
Metatron looked over in the corner and rolled his eyes. "Oh, I thought he wouldn't find us here." Then he called over to the person, "We see you over there. Come on."  
The stranger apprehensively walked over to them, then pulled down his hood revealing a rather nervous-looking man with neatly clipped light brown hair.   
"Lot," Metatron began, "This is Gadreel."


	22. Less Secrets And Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam does some recruiting of his own.

"Nice to meet you," Sam said, extending his hand to shake, "I'm Lot."  
Gadreel looked at the hand like he wasn't sure what to do with it.  
"I think he wants you to shake it." Metatron informed him.  
Gadreel took the hand awkwardly and shook it.  
"Probably been spending too much time with humans." Sam said, trying to ease the intensity, "So, ah, this is the new recruit?"  
"Yes, I am." Gadreel replied, still looking a little nervous as he set down on the other side, like he almost scared of Sam.  
"However, Gadreel, there is one more thing I need from you." Metatron spoke up, "A test of your loyalty."  
"You have it." Gadreel insisted.  
"I know you said, that, but I need to be sure," Metatron replied, "Like I told Lot when I asked him to this for me, we have enemies who need to be neutralized."  
"Slain?" Gadreel asked.   
"Why does it take everyone so long to figure that out?" Metatron wondered aloud, "But, yes."  
Gadreel suddenly looked unsure.  
"Are you making everyone do this?" Sam spoke up, the facade slipping for a moment.  
"No," Metatron replied, "That would be impractical. But I need to be extra sure about my higher-ups, so-" He handed a yellow card to Gadreel, "Contact me when it's done." Then he got up and walked away.  
Gadreel just stared at the card like he wondering what to do.   
"Hey, you want to go somewhere and talk?" Sam asked. At the very least he should try to get the name of that card. At the most maybe, just maybe he could turn this new angel into an alley.  
"Yes." Gadreel answered.  
They walked in silence until the bar was far out of their view. At last Sam asked, "So, whose name is on the card?"  
"Someone named Alexander Sarver," Gadreel said, looking down at the car, then back to Sam, "Metatron he-he really made you do this, as well?"  
"Yeah," Sam replied, "Yeah he did. But-you don't have to. You can just walk away. We'll find someone else."  
"I don't think walking away is an option for me." Gadreel responded, looking straight away.  
"We won't come after you." Sam assured him, "I'll make sure of it." He wasn't sure it was promise he could keep, but if he could stall for enough to find this Sarver guy, keep him breathing, and figure out what he had to do with anything, he was willing to say almost anything.  
"It's not that,' Gadreel replied, "This could be my last chance at redemption."   
That caught Sam's attention. "Redemption from what?"  
"You know what." Gadreel replied.  
"For a minute, let's pretend I don't." Sam tried.  
"Why?" Gadreel asked, starting to sound a little cross, "Why go over it again?"  
Sam paused for a moment to think on his next move. Saying the wrong thing could send this whole thing coming down around him. "Look," He said finally, "I want to help you, really I do, but I can't do that without a little more detail."  
"How much more detail do you need?" Gadreel replied, "The serpent got in, the world was cursed, it wasn't my doing, but I was the one guarding the garden."  
That stunned Sam into silence again. "Are you telling me that you're the angel the snake tempted Eve got passed?"  
That was when Gadreel realized what was going on. "You really didn't know that, did you?"  
Sam knew that he was seconds from being found out. So, he did the only thing he could think of. "What if I told you there was a way to get what you want, without killing some random guy."  
Gadreel stared him in the eye. "I'm listening."


	23. Unforeseen Complications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Dean deliver a warning.

"You cannot be serious, Sam!" Dean exclaimed, back at the bunker, "What did we said about consulting us first?!"  
"Again, there wasn't time." Sam explained, "The guy knew I wasn't legit, I had to stop him from killing this Staver guy and I thought we could work with him."  
"Then why is he wearing a blindfold?" Linda asked, pointing to Gadreel who was off to the side, in fact, wearing a piece of black cloth over his eyes.  
"In case I was wrong I wanted to limit the number of ways this could come back and bite us." Sam replied.  
"Well, at least you were smart enough to do that." Dean commented.  
"Look, he hasn't even done anything yet." Sam cut in, "And after a brief freak out he seemed willing to help, so, can we just give him a chance?"  
"Alright," Dean conceded, "So, what's the deal with this Sraver guy, anyway?"  
"No clue." Sam said, "He didn't know anything, and I can't find anything. So, I figure we just go to the guy house tell him that angels want him dead?"  
"That's gonna be a fun talk." Dean snarked.  
Nevertheless, it had to be done. And fortunately, this card had a location on it, which lead to the boys loading into the car and heading to Pennsylvania.  
They parked by the side of the curb in front of rather normal looking house, enforcing the theory that Metatron might just be screwing with them. Sam and Dean stepped out of the car where a man was bent over a flower garden, picking weeds, his back to the brothers. "Alexander Sarver?" Sam asked, wondering how do they even explain what was going on to this poor guy.  
The man turned around and suddenly Sam had some sort of clue as to what was going on. "Yeah?" The man asked.  
"Dean, he's an angel." Sam whispered.  
"Excuse me?" Alexander asked around the same time Dean replied, "What?"  
"It's okay, I'm one, too." Sam said, addressing Alexander.  
Alexander's or whoever he really was, face darkened as he said, "So you are."  
Realizing he thought they were a threat, Sam said, "Look, we're not here to hurt you. In fact, we're here to warn you about something."  
"Alright, then, what is it?" The other angel asked.  
Just then a little girl ran out of the house, calling, "Daddy! Daddy!"  
The angel had a look of fear in eye and he picked the child up. "Hey, Delilah, Daddy needs to talk to these men alone for a few minutes, alright?"  
"You have a kid?" Sam balked.  
"Man, you got a lot done fast." Dean commented.  
"Do you need a bit to-" Sam began, not really wanting to have this conversation in front of Delilah."  
"Yes." The angel said, "Look, my wife and the niblet are going to movie in a little bit. Swing by then and we can talk about whatever this is. Okay?"  
"Sure." Sam agreed. This could wait a little bit longer.  
Later they came back and the angel ushered them into the living room. "So, what, you just took over your meatsuit's life?" Dean asked.  
"My 'meatsuit' as you put it was an abusive ass." The angel informed them, "Trust me, no one's too broken up about the situation."  
"Including the woman, you're presumably sharing a bed with?" Dean pointed out, referring to Delilah's mother.  
"Janey knows." The angel replied, "Not the details, but, she knew something was different after a couple of days. She doesn't care. Now are you two going to tell me what's going on, or just stand there passing judgment on something you know nothing about?"  
"Listen ah-" Sam began, wanting to defuse the situation, but his voice trailed off as he realized they didn't know his real name.  
"Abner." The angel told him.  
"Abner," Sam repeated, "I apologize for my brother, but this one of the weirder situations we've come across recently, but that's not really important right now. What's the name Metatron mean to you?"  
"The scribe of God?" Abner asked, raising an eyebrow, "What about him?"  
"Right, you've probably been out of the loop." Sam said, "Well, he was the one who caused all the angels to fall."  
Abner's eyes widened. "And you and you and you're...'brother' are looking for him?" He guessed.  
"Well, we sorta found him." Dean cut in, "Then Sam got himself undercover in his faction, and through that he found out that for some reason, Metatron ordered on his other innicates to kill you."  
Now Abner's eyes were saucers. "Why would he want me dead.? I didn't even know anyone knew I was alive."  
"Well, he does." Dean said, "We were actually hopping you could tell us why he wants you dead."  
Suddenly an idea occurred to Sam. "Does the name Gadreel mean anything to you?"  
Abner's eyes lit up in recognition. "We were imprisoned in Heaven's lockup together." He explained, "He's my best friend. He's alive?"  
Instead of answering him, Sam said, "I think I know what's going on here."  
"Well, don't leave us in suspense." Dean said.  
"It’s actually is a test of his loyalty." Sam explained, "This would cemement Gadreel's commitment, and make sure he literally has nowhere else to go. I mean, you two couldn't have been very popular upstairs, right?"  
"No, we weren't." Abner admitted.  
"Okay, so, now that we know why he wants you dead, we just have to make it look like you're dead." Dean said.  
"How are you going to do that?" Abner asked.  
"That-" Dean's voice trailed off, "Is actually a good question." He turned to his brother, "Sam?"  
"Maybe we could put him in the motel with Kevin?" Sam suggested.  
Just then Dean's phone rang. He looked down and saw it Kevin. "Speak of the Devil," Dean said, picking up his phone. "Hey, Kevin, something wrong?"  
"Kind of." Kevin said, "We're all find, no one's hurt, well, someone is, but not anyone who didn't have it coming. But, um, we're going need a new warded room."


	24. Prophet Protection Program

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kevin, Hael, and Castiel hide out.

While all this was going on, Kevin, Castiel, and Hael were cooped up in the motel room trying to stay safe.   
So far, the only thing they had to fight was the boredom.  
"Hey, Hael." Kevin said, sitting on the edge of the bed, "I spy with my little eye, something with flowers on it."  
"Why are you talking like that?" Hael asked, not sure what was going on.  
"It's a game." Kevin said, "You keep asking questions until you figure out what I'm seeing. Come on. Cas, you can play, too."  
"Is it in this room?" Cas tried, "We have the blinds drawn. Whatever you're seeing has to be in this room."  
"It is in the room," Kevin said, then decided to help them out since it was their first time added, "Though not this part of the room."  
Hael scanned the room with her eyes, then she saw it. "Is it in the bathroom?"  
Kevin grinned. "Yes. Yes, it is in the bathroom."  
Hael squinted her eyes, examining the bathroom. There was only one thing in it with flowers. "Is it that cloth around the tub?"  
"You got it!" Kevin said, beaming, "Okay, you try."  
And so, they three spent the next hour and a half playing eye-spy. In truth, Kevin got bored with it twenty minutes in, but his friends seemed rather enamored with the game so he kept up appearances. However, they eventually ran out of things to spy. Eventually the TV came on. Which lead to questions from Kevin's bodyguards who weren't all that knowledgeable about human society.  
"Why is he kissing her while she’s unconscious?" Hael asked, staring at the screen.  
"Because that’s how you break the spell." Kevin explained, rather uncomfortable. This was not a movie to be watched in mixed company.  
“But how does he know that?” Hael asked.  
“I…don’t know.” Kevin admitted.  
That was when Cas slipped off the bed.  
“Hey, where are you going?” Kevin asked  
" I need to go...use the facilities." Cas explained, heading that direction. He shut the door behind him, leaving Hael and Kevin alone.  
Hael turned to Kevin. "How are you doing?" She asked.  
"Apart from the group of angles that want me dead?" Kevin replied, "I'm good."  
Hael srinked a little. "I'm sorry."  
"Actually, I think I'm starting to get use to it." Kevin told her, then realizing what he just said, added, "Which is probably not a good thing."  
"But you shouldn't have to get use to it." Hael continued, "You don't deserve any of this."  
"That's what I have been saying for over two years." Kevin said, "Tell you what, one good thing did come out of it, though."  
Hael squinted her eyes in confusion. "What is that?"  
Putting his hand over hers, he looked into her eyes and said, "I made an awesome friend."  
Just then they heard the sound of the toilet flushing and water running and quickly backed away from each other as Cas walked out.   
Later that might, after the two humans had fallen asleep, one of the two were in throes of yet another nightmare. Tonight, it was mix of fallen angels, accusations, blood, fire. Suddenly he jolted awake, his eyes fluttering open. In the dark of the room, he saw a shadow figure leaning over another on the bed, getting dangerously close to his face.  
Cas jumped from his chair, angel and blade in hand, until the figure raised her hands in a protective stance and shouted, "It's me! Castiel, it's me!"  
Cas lowered his weapon. "Hael?"  
As Cas turned on the lamp, the female angel nodded.   
"W-What are you doing?" Castiel asked.  
"Nothing." Hael said quickly, "Just, watching over Kevin."  
"I don't think you need to do it that closely." Cas replied, giving her a questioning look.  
"Right. Sorry." Hael said, stepping away.  
Suddenly Cas got an idea what was going on, so he took a deep breath and just came out with what everyone was wondering. "Hael, what's your relationship Kevin?"  
Hael got that confused look again. "What do you mean?"  
"I mean do you have...feelings for him?" Cas got out, "Romantic ones, I mean?"  
Hael's eyes widened. "What?" She balked, "No! Why would you-"  
"Hael, if you do, it's okay." Cas told her.  
"No, it's not!" Hael protested, "It's forbidden!"  
"This is not what's this is about." Cas said, trying to placate her, "Feelings, particularly ones like these, can be confusing."  
"They would be if I have them!" Hael exclaimed, her voice rising "But I don't, so stop-"  
Suddenly Kevin made a little gasp as he awoke. "Cas?" He asked, starting to sit up, "Hael? What's going on?"  
"Nothing," Hael lied, "Just go back to sleep." Then she gave Cas a look that sent chills down his spines, as if she hated him for merely bringing up the subject.  
The rest of the night was spent in somewhat awkward silence.  
"Man, this is getting sad," Kevin, "Also, these are really engrossing for some reason."  
The trio had found a stack of postcards left in one of the drawers by a previous guest. Now they were laid out on the floor with the postcards spread out around them.  
"Whoever this person was, they've been to some very exotic places." Cas noted, his hand tracing a card with the pyramids on it.  
"Yeah, which makes you wonder why they were staying in a place like this." Kevin replied, "I mean, it works for what we're using it for-"  
"This sort of looks like something I made the last time I was down here." Hael said, pointing one of the postcards.  
"You never told me you've been to earth before now." Kevin said.  
"Many years ago, when it features were still being formed." Hael explained, "I built this Grand Canyon. I don't me to sound to prideful, but-it really was beautiful."  
Kevin picked up the post card and held it out to her. "This?" He asked, "The Grand Canyon? You made this?"  
"Yes." Hael said.  
Kevin looked shocked for a moment, then broke out into a grin. "Gotta say, I'm, ah, I'm a big fan of your work."  
Hael ducked her head down. "Thank you." She said sheepishly.  
"Just to let you know, I'm not the only one." Kevin continued, "Thousands of people go to see it every year."  
Hael glanced up. "That sounds dangerous. It was quite deep."  
"Well, they've put up railings in certain parts of it, so people can look." Kevin said, "Tell you what, after all this is over, when we have the angels situated, and no one's trying to kill us, we go off and see it, just you and me."  
Hael's eyes lit up. "I think I would like that, yes."  
"Alright then." Kevin said, "First chance we'll get, we'll rent a Convertible and go."  
"What's a Convertible?" Hael asked.  
"A type of car." Kevin explained, "But the type of car's not really important."  
Later that day, Kevin and Hael were laying on the floor, staring at the ceiling. Castiel was in the bathroom again.  
"I think Cas might have a bladder problem." Kevin said suddenly, "That's like that ninth time he's been to the bathroom today."  
"I don't think that's it." Hael said, "I think he's avoiding me."  
"Why?" Kevin said, sitting up.  
Hael froze for minute. Finally, she said, "He thinks I'm in love with you." She laughed uncomfortably. "Really, can you imagine? "  
Kevin's heart sank into his stomach. "Yeah, it's ridiculous." He said, his voice sounding hallow.  
"And even if I was." Hael continued, "It's not like you have any feelings like that for me, right?"  
Kevin got silent.  
Hael sat up. "Why aren't you saying anything?"  
Suddenly Kevin's mouth got dry. He wasn't sure what was wrong with him.  
"Kevin," Hael began nervously, "What if I told you that I lied before, that Castiel was right? That I do have feelings for you?"  
Before Kevin could answer there was a clash from outside, accompanied by a woman's scream.  
Hael leapt to her feet as Cas burst from the bathroom.   
"Stay here." Cas instructed Kevin as the pair headed out, "If we're not back in a few minutes, call the Winchesters."  
When the ran outside, they saw a hulking thug dragging a woman by her blonde hair as a smaller man followed behind him behind them.  
"Let go of me!" The woman protested, terrified, trying to fight off her captors. The smaller man grabbed her throat.  
"Still a coward, I see." He hissed.  
"Hey!" Cas shouted, as he and Hael descended on the scene. He punched the smaller one, only for his head to move back into place seconds later.  
"They're angels." Hael said, "Maybe you should stay back with-"  
But as she said that the thug pulled out his blade and lashed it out at her, Hael barely fighting deflecting him with her own.  
The smaller one, grabbed, Castiel's arm, nearly dislocating it. Cas screamed out in pain as the angel pulled him in, putting a blade to his neck. "I'd walkway, unless you want your human friend here to get nasty little cut."  
"Let them go, Malachi." The other female angel said, "They have nothing to do with it."  
Suddenly a look of recognition lit up in the angel's-Malachi, apparently-face. "I actually think this one does." He said, smiling without warmth, "Theo, kill the girl. We're taking them, both."  
As Theo raised his blade again, Cas kicked Malachi in the groin, which even for an angel is somewhat sensitive, causing him to let him go and giving him a chance to grab the angel's weapon. He stabbed in Theo's shoulder, causing him to let go of both his blade and the female angel.  
"Go!" Both Hael and Cas shouted almost in unison.  
"I'm not leaving you." The angel protested.  
"Then that will be you're undoing." Malachi shouted, charging at her. Cas got in-between them, managing to tackle Malachi.  
At point they were mess of arms and legs and clanking angel blades. Stabbing and hitting, neither side making much headway. No one notice Kevin step out in the commotion.  
Finally, Malachi had Cas on the ground, stepping on his hand with his foot. He grabbed the female angel and Theo pushed a battered Hael to the ground. "You fought well, little girl." He said, and he raised a blade, ready to give the death blow when suddenly, Kevin slide across the lot, taking them all by surprise, and grabbing a blade that had been discarded. Before anyone could react, he stabbed Theo in the stomach. Grabbing another blade Hael stabbed him in the throat, and the angel fell to the ground dead.  
They then turned their attention to Malachi, who realizing he had beat, threw his captive at them, then ran as fast as he could.  
"And you call me a coward?!" The female angel screamed at him before turning back to the group, "Thank you."  
"Are you hurt?" Hael asked.  
"Not badly." The angel replied, "You?"  
"A little scrapped and bruised." Hael said, "Nothing more. Kevin?"  
"I'm good." He said, "Cas?"  
"I could use some healing." Cas said, walking over to the female angel and draping his jacket over her. "Why don't we get you inside, and you can explain to us what was that was about."  
The angel allowed herself to be led to the room, Cas scrapping off a bit of the angel warding to get her in. Then Hael and Kevin followed behind, checking before they shut the door


	25. Things Come Out, Things Stay Hidden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Winchesters learn more about the situation, and Kevin and Hael get a relationship upgrade.

When Sam and Dean arrived at the motel, the group told them their story.  
"So, what exactly did you to make those two come after you?" Dean asked, once they were finished.  
"I committed the horrible of crime of trying to stay neutral." The angel they had saved, Muriel, answered.  
"Neural?" Sam asked.  
"It's as you feared," Castiel spoke up, "Not only is there another faction, being led by the anarchist, Malachi, but he and Bartholomew are in a blood a blood feud."  
" And apparently this guy was psycho before the fall." Kevin added.  
"It's madness." Muriel continued, wrapping the jacket she was still wearing closer around her, "Each side is rounding up those like me. Angels are being tortured and killed if they don't pledge loyalty."  
Cas sighed. "It's worst than we thought. Much worst."  
"Gee, ya think?!" Dean sarnked, rubbing his face wearily.  
"Each side wants to crush each other, overthrow Metatron, and rule Heaven," Muriel said "And... Heaven under either of them would be..."  
"Hell." Hael finished.  
Everyone exchanged tense looks.  
At last Kevin asked what everyone was thinking. "So, where do we go from here?"  
"Well, the first thing we need to do is to set you up somewhere else." Dean said, "We don't want Malachi to come back look for revenge." Then she turned to Muriel, "You, would you mind staying a little longer so we can ask you a few more questions?"  
"It's not like I have anywhere else to go." Muriel replied.  
After some searching and debate, they found a motel a town over the looked like it would do the trick. After they covered it with about fifteen different kinds of warding they ushered the group inside.  
"Okay," Dean said, "Same rules at last time. Don't leave the room, keep your heads down and try not to die. Cas, can we see you outside for a moment?"  
The three walked outside, leaving Kevin and Hael alone. "Are you mad at me?" Kevin asked. Hael hadn't spoke to him since they saved Muriel.  
"Yes," Hael said, turning away from him.  
"Okay," Kevin said slowly, "Why?"  
"Because you followed us out there after I told you to stay in the room." Hael snapped, folding her arms.  
"And I should have just let them kill you?" Kevin responded.  
"It's better than you being dead!" Hael exclaimed.  
"Why?" Kevin demanded, "Because you're suppose to protect me?!"  
"Because I don't know what I'd do if I lost you!" Hael screamed.  
Kevin was silent for a minute, just staring at her. At last he asked, "What?"  
Now it was Hael's turn to be silent, bowing her head. "I shouldn't have said that."  
"Yeah, well, you did, so could be elaborate?" Kevin asked.  
Hael took a deep breath, then exhaled. "I don't really understand my feelings for you," She said finally, "But I know that if you were gone, I'd want to go, too."  
"Alright, before this goes any further, there's something I have to tell you." Kevin said.  
Hael swallowed. She had a feeling she wouldn't like where this was going. "What?"  
"That level of devotion is extremely unhealthy." Kevin told her, "If anything did happen to me I would want you to go on and live a full, happy life, you understand?"  
Hael nodded.  
"I need to hear it." Kevin said. He needed to know she wouldn't hurt herself.  
"I understand." Hael replied.  
"Now, you remember what you asked last night?" Kevin asked, "What would I say if you told me you had feelings for me, which is what you appear to be telling me, please correct me if I'm wrong."  
Hael didn't reply.  
"Well, I would say, I think I feel the same way about you." Kevin said.  
Hael's face suddenly lit up. "Really?"  
"Really." Kevin confirmed. The he leaned in closer to the female angel, until his lips were gently touching hers. After a moment he moved back "Was it alright?" He asked, realizing what he had just done, "T-That I did that?"  
"Yes." Hael replied, "What...what was it?"  
Kevin paused again, think of how to explain it to her. "It's a...it was a kiss, Hael. You give it to people you like a lot and maybe even love."  
Love. The word rang through Hael's head, terrifying her and thrilling her at the same time. "I don't think we should tell anyone yet." She said, "About us."  
Kevin smiled. "Okay."   
Just then the door opened and Cas stepped in. They pair quickly distanced themselves. "Hey," Kevin said, "So what did the guys want to talk to you about?"  
"They just thought maybe I should sit out on this one." Cas explained, putting air quotes around the last part of the sentence, "I told them no."  
Hael and Kevin exchanged looks. Then they turned to Cas. "Did you tell them about what happened in the motel?" Hael asked.  
"They already know what happened." Cas replied, "We spent a whole hour explaining it to them."  
"But we sort of skimmed over the part when Malachi recognized you." Hael reminded him.  
"We don't for sure that he did." Cas said, "He never actually said my name."  
"But he wanted to take you, too." Hael reminded him, "It's a pretty good assumption."  
"Still nothing we need to worry them with." Cas said, walking off, signaling that at least in his mind the matter was closed.  
After dropping those three off, Sam and Dean took Muriel back to the bunker to continuing questioning her. However, it appeared that she had gave them all the information she knew.  
"I'm sorry," She said, after about an hour or so, "I really wish I could give you more.  
"It's alright," Sam said, "You gave us a lot."  
"Why do you want to know all this?" Muriel asked.  
"Because we're going to try to do something about it." Sam replied, "Put these guys out of business before they do any more damage."  
"Now's that’s something I could get behind." Muriel said.  
Just them Sam felt someone calling him. "I think I'm being summoned."  
"What?" Dean responded, "Now?"  
"It's not like we're really doing anything." Sam pointed out, "Could you take care of her?"  
"Sure." Dean agreed.  
"What's going on?" Muriel asked.  
"You know how we say we were going to put all the factions out of business?" Dean asked, "Well, part of that involved putting him undercover in Metatron's organization."  
"Then why haven't you killed him, yet?" Muriel asked.  
"That's a-" Dean began, "That's actually a good question." He looked over to Sam for an explanation.  
"I'm sorry, I've been a little bust trying to prevent two different assianations." Sam replied.  
"Good point," Dean admitted, "But tell you what, in case he's figured that out and this is an ambush, take a blade with you, okay?"  
Sam grabbed one from the table and he took off.  
This time the meeting place was in an abandoned factory. When Sam entered Metatron was already there.  
"Figured there wasn't a chance of us getting spied on here." The evil angel explained, "Speaking of which, have you heard anything from Gadreel?"  
"No." Sam lied, "I'm sure he'll come through. It's just a long way to Missouri."  
Metatron seemed to pounder this a moment. "I don't need him yet, anyway." He said, then turned his attention back to Sam, "But there is something I want to show you."


	26. The Door

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam discovers a way back to Heaven.

Sam carefully pulled out his blade, hiding it behind his back as he followed Metatron. "So, ah, what is this thing you wanted to show me?"   
"You'll see." Metatron said, "You know how my spell is irreversible?"  
"Yes." Sam replied, not sure where this was going.  
"Well, that doesn't really work with for my big plan." Metatron continued, "So I had to come up with something. A back door if you will."  
Sam carefully but the blade back, seeing where this was going. Metatron wasn't half as clever as he thought he was.  
They turned the corner into what looked like it use to be someone's office. Suddenly the ground beneath them began to shift, and a hole swirled opening emitting a bright light from it.  
"You made a portal back to Heaven." Sam gapped.  
"Nothing gets past you, does it?" Metatron teased, "So, you want to check it out?"  
"Of course." Sam said, partly playing along, partly wanting to get as much information about this as possible.  
"Then follow me." Metatron said, stepping a little closer to the hole. Sam followed his example and the light engulfed them both.  
The next second they were in an open green field. He looked around and spotted a little girl in floppy white hat picking flowers.  
"Crap." Metatron exchanged, "I'm still making a few configurations. It was suppose to drop us in the part only angels have access to."  
Just then little girl noticed she wasn't alone, turning around.  
"Quick." Metatron said, making himself invisible. Sam quickly did the same thing before the little girl could see him.  
"Hello?" She asked, "Who's there?" After a minute she called out, "Mommy?"  
"Over here, sweetie!" A woman with same brown hair and tan skin as the girl said, coming into the view.   
"Mommy!" The girl happily shouted, running over to her. She picked the little girl up and in response the little girl held out her flowers to her.  
"Oh, these are beautiful." The woman said, taking a few and tucking them in her hair.  
A bit formed in Sam's stomach as a horrible realization dawned on him. "Whose Heaven is this?" He asked, "The woman's or the girl's?"  
"Both I'm sorry to say." Metatron explained, "Car accident. Normally exceptions are only made for soul mates, but-" He gestured to the two playing together, "Nobody said soul mates had to be in the romantic sense of the word."  
"Oh," Sam replied. He didn't know angels were capable of non-linear thinking like that.  
"However, that doesn't really matter at the moment." Metatron said, "Since as I said, I never meant for us to be here. So, I trust that you can keep a lid on this until I get this problem fixed."  
"Of course." Sam replied.  
He immediately told Dean and the others about it when he got back to the bunker.  
"So we can get back home?" Gadreel, who was still there, and still blindfolded, asked. Actually, all the angels they had gathered were still in the bunker.  
"Yeah." Sam said.  
"Okay, finally, something's actually going right for us." Dean spoke up, "How does this work?"  
"I'm not sure." Sam said, "But if I could get closer to him while he's working on the kinks, I think I would learn to work it myself. So I offered to help him with it."  
"And what do you need us to do?" Muriel spoke up.  
"Well, nothing really." Sam began, "Just I'm sorry-why are you asking me that?"  
The three angels exchanged looks. "We've been talking." Muriel said, "The three of us. And we have decided that, of everyone out there-you're the only one who's intentions are good, and pure. The only one with an actual plan."  
"What are saying?" Sam asked, thought he was afraid he knew where this was going.  
"We're saying that we'll follow you, Sam Winchester." Muriel said determinedly.  
The room went completely silent.  
"Wow." Dean said at last, "Did not see that coming."


	27. Sam Winchester: Leader of Angels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam begins to lead the angels.

"What do you mean, you'll follow me?" Sam asked.  
The angels exchanged looks, like they couldn't understand the confusion. "We want to lead us." Muriel said in a tone the same as the looks.  
Sam was silent for a moment his mouth agape. "Ser-Seriously?" He asked finally, "You all hate me, remember? Me and him are the cause of most of your recent problems. I mean, you use to like him, but you've always hated me. Why would you want to follow someone you've hated since the beginning of time?"  
"Things are very complicated now." Muriel answered.  
"And you were the one who stopped me from killing my best friend." Gadreel pointed out.  
"Which I'm also grateful for." Abner added.   
"And it was your friends who saved me from Malachi." Muriel finished, "And you're the only one with plan of how to get us back."  
"Those aren't qualifications to lead anyone!" Sam argued, "In fact I might be the least qualified person. I'm only been an angel for a few months."  
"That doesn't matter to us." Muriel said, "We trust you, and will help your cause in any way we can."  
Sam just stood there for a minute, breathing heavily, processing it all. "Excuse me, I need some air." He said finally, before running for it.  
Everyone just stood there a minute in somewhat awkward silence.   
"Okay, guys, just wait here, I'll go talk to him." Dean said, before running after Sam.  
When he found his brother, Sam was plopped on the ground by the side of the bunker, hyperventilating. Immediately Dean ran to his aid, dropping at his side. "It's okay, Sammy," He said, "Just breathe, slowly, deeps breathes, there you go."  
Sam calmed down, and started breathing normally.   
"Okay," Dean said, "You better now?"  
"A little." Sam replied, "Dean, what am I gonna do?"  
"You mean about your newfound angel army?" Dean asked.  
"I don't think three angels make an army." Sam said, "But yeah."  
"Well, they want to follow you," Dean began, "So let 'em."  
Sam turned to his brother in disbelief. "Are you serious?"  
"Look, it's not the best idea either of us has ever had." Dean admitted, "But it's not the worst either."  
"Not the worst-" Sam began, "Dean, I cannot lead these guys. I wouldn't even know where to begin."  
"Keeping them in line would be a start." Dean responded, "Look, if they're doing what you tell them, they're not out there, causing chaos."  
Sam was silent a minute, thinking that over. He had to admit, Dean made a good point.  
"And besides, it's not like we couldn't use the extra help." Dean continued.  
"Alright," Sam conceded, "I'll do it."  
Dean gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Perfect." He said, "Now, do you think you can go back in there?"  
"I guess." Sam said, but he really wasn't that sure at all.  
"Then let's go before those guys start getting antsy." Dean said, helping Sam to his feet.  
They walked back into the main room where the three angels were huddled, talking amongst themselves. Considering where that had lead last time, Sam spoke up. "Hey, guys!"  
Suddenly, he had the room's undivided attention.  
"Look, um, I'm honored, that you want me to lead you." Sam began, "And there is actually one thing I just thought of that you can do to help." He meant that literally. The idea had came to him a few moments before.  
"You do?" Muriel asked, almost hopefully.  
"You do?" Dean repeated, surprised.  
"Yeah," Sam repeated, "Look, we have one of the bulk of supernatural information, and there's-"Sam counted both the angels and humans currently at the bunker, "Six of us. If we raid the stacks, one of us is bound to find something."  
Linda, who been standing to the side, watching the whole thing, spoke up. "That's actually not a bad idea."  
"Okay, just one more thing." Sam said, "Can somebody take the blindfold off Gadreel?"  
And so they all set to work thoroughly going through every book on the shelf, looking for anything referencing portals to Heaven. Since half the workforce didn't need food or sleep, they could look as long as they needed. Which is exactly what happened. Days turned into weeks, and before anyone knew what happened, a week had turned into a month.  
And during that time, Sam went back and forth between the bunker and Metatron's various hide-outs, working on the door. As his time with the ex-scribe became more frequent, he noticed that his ranks seemed to be growing. Sam thought he had about fifty now. It might be small in comparison to other factions in comparison and to the host as a whole, but still it worried Sam, especially when his own band of fighters consisted of five angels, two and a half hunters, a prophet and a soccer mom.  
Then came the day it all changed.  
"I think we have it this time." Metatron said, finishing the latest calibrations, " I know it."  
"Only one way to find out." Sam replied.  
The door was activated and next thing Sam know they were standing in an empty white room. "Is this..." His voice trailed off.  
"Yes, Lot, it is." Metatron said, a satisfied smile on his face, "The center of Heaven."  
"We did it." Sam said, real emotions coming though," We actually did it." After a moment of silence, he added, "So what happens now?"  
"Now, we get more angels." Metatron replied, "I don't have nearly enough yet for my plan to work."  
"Your plan?" Sam asked innocently, but really it wasn't innocent at all.  
"To remake Heaven of course." Metatron replied vaguely. It wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't exactly the truth either.  
Sam had feeling he wasn't going to like the details.  
"Why didn't you kill him right then?" Dean asked, standing in front of an abandoned store front with Sam, once he was able to get away.  
"How was I going to get out of there, Dean?" Sam replied, "I mean, sure I could've got back to Earth, but then there would've been fifty angels who kill me when they found out what I done."  
"His hold is that strong an all of them?" Dean responded.  
"Some more than others." Sam answered, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but if we want to steal that door, we're going to have to negotiate some defections."  
"Oh." Dean quipped, "Is that all?"


	28. Discovering Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and the team recruit the angel of discovering truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I didn't update last week. Something unexpected came up and kept me from it. Thank God he got me through it and let me update this week.

Sam and Gadreel set across the table from each other, a list of Metatron's angels in between them.  
"What about this guy?" Sam suggested, "Metatron seemed to like him. He could probably get us in again."  
Gadreel shook his head in response. "He's too set in his ways. Even if he could be swayed away from Metatron, when he found out who you really are, about the transformation-he wouldn't take it well." Then he glanced back down to the list, "What about Ezra? You could probably sway him with a couple of compliments."  
"Kind of low on the totem pole, though." Sam commented.  
Dean groaned. "Guys, at this rate you're gonna have everyone on that list crossed off with nothing to show for it."  
"Well what do you propose we do?" Gadreel challenged.  
"How 'bout a compromise?" Dean asked, "There's got to be someone knowledgeable about the door and high-ranking, but with low enough self-esteem and/or some doubts that you can use to pull them over here."  
"Dean's right." Sam declared.  
"He is?" Gadreel asked.  
"Yeah." Sam replied, "If we think hard enough there has to be someone with all those qualities. If we put our heads together, we can find them."  
Gadreel looked unsure, but said, "I'm not sure how that would help, but alright." Then he stood up, leaning over towards Sam.  
Realizing what was happening, Sam said, "It's an expression, Gadreel. We don't actually need to put our heads together."  
"Oh." Gadreel said, sitting back down, "Sorry."  
"It's alright." Sam said, but he was thinking, Am I the only angel not completely literal?  
Finding the perfect angel to lure from the fold was easier said than done. If they weren't close enough to get them to the door, they had totally drunk the Kool-Aid, or just more than likely not take the truth of who Sam was very well, either due to his history or the mere fact that a human-to-angel transformation had never been heard of before, let alone been done. And there were some neither them knew about.  
This led to them involving the others, including temporarily reliving Hael and Castiel of duty, and having Miriam come up from Tennessee.  
"So, just look over the list for anyone you know," Sam said, "Tell us what you know about them and if you think they would make a good fit."  
They group peered over the list for a moment, then Miriam reached out and put her finger on one of the names, saying, "This one."  
Sam and Gadreel leaned over to see where she was pointing. To their surprise, it was one of the names they had already crossed off. "Really?" Sam asked.  
Miriam nodded. "I knew her very well, back home. If there's anyone who will listen to reason, it's her. I'm surprised she hasn't seen though Metatron's crap already."  
Several people in the room exchanged looks. "I have some concerns about the influences your witch friends have had on you." Hael said.  
"Miriam, your friend might have changed since the last time you them," Sam warned for her," She seems to be one of the more die-hards."  
"On the other hand," Gadreel spoke up, "Didn't you say Metatron was thinking about having her guard the door?"  
"Just let me talk to her." Miriam requested, "I promise you I can make her see reason."  
"And if you can't?" Hael spoke up. If this went wrong the whole operation could fall apart.  
"I will." Miriam said firmly, "How hard can it be to get the angel of discovering truth to do that?"  
So, it was decided.   
It turned out getting Asaeriel alone wasn’t that hard. Ever since they met she had an intense interest in Sam. Now that he knew she was the angel of discovering truth, he wondered if she somehow knew he was being less than honest about who he was. Whatever the case, she was willing to follow him away from the base of operations to a neutral location in the city.  
"So, what's this thing you wanted to show me?" Asaeriel asked, walking into a secluded dinner.  
"Just a little while longer." Sam said, leading her to the booth closet to the back exit.   
As they approached a young woman with her pinkish blonde hair smoothed back into a neat ponytail stood up.  
Even in the new vessel, the angel of discovering truth recognized who is was immediately. "Miriam." She gasped.  
"Hello, Asaeriel." Miriam replied, smiling.  
"I thought..."Asaeriel voice trailed off for a moment, "I thought that you died in the Fall."  
"I almost did." Miriam admitted, "But some...good people found me and saved my life." She was quiet from a moment, then said, "Would mind sitting down for a moment? There are some things I have to talk with you about."  
"Of course."Asaeriel said, sitting down, her face lit up. At that moment she would do practically anything her friend asked her.  
When Sam went to slide in Miriam held up her hand, stopping him. "Actually, Sam, I think it would be better if I did this alone."  
"Okay." Sam said, sounding as rather unsure as he felt, but getting back up anyway in walking out.  
As he left Asaeriel asked, "Why did you call him that?"  
"That's one of the things we need to talk about." Miriam replied.  
When Sam walked into the parking lot, Lola and Dean stepped out of the Impala. "Where's Mim?" Lola asked, when the angel wasn't with her.  
"Still in the dinner." Sam replied, "She wanted to talk to Asaeriel alone."  
Both hunter and witch's eyes widened, saying "What?!" Then Lola took over marching up to Sam, "What the Hell were you thinking?!"  
"She'll be fine." Sam assured her, "They're friends, remember?"  
"They were before she pled her loyalty to these to this-Metatron guy." Lola pointed out, "You told it yourself these guys have been killing each other over who's working for who. And on top of that she's been hanging out with witches for months. How do you think she's gonna react to that?"  
"Look, we can see what's going on." Sam reasoned, pointing back to the dinner, "At the first sign of trouble we can go in and back her up."  
Meanwhile inside, Miriam had just finished explaining to Asaeriel who Sam really was.  
"I knew there was something not quite right about him." Asaeriel said, rubbing her forehead, "But this...how is that even possible?"  
"I couldn't believe it myself when I first heard." Miriam replied, "But, there he is. I mean, you have to have noticed his wings."  
"I've never really been able to get a good look at his wings." Asaeriel explained, "He always keeps them so close to his back, and holds himself at an angle that makes them hard to see."  
"So that's how he does it." Miriam thought. Out loud she said, "Well, after all this is over, you should get him to show them to you. They're quite beautiful."  
"What is- this?" Asaeriel asked, "Why are you telling me all this?"  
"Because we want you to help get to the door." Miriam answered, "We want to get everyone back to Heaven, and Metatron's too dangerous to let him have it."  
"And the ex-boy king isn’t?" Asaeriel countered.  
"That was years ago." Miriam augured, "And his blood's been purified, and more importantly, he wasn't the one that caused the fall. I mean, what sense does that even make, trusting the angel that got us into this mess in the first place?"  
"I admit, I almost didn't sign on because of that." Asaeriel responded, "And I don't-I don't actually trust him."  
"Then why follow someone you don't trust?" Miriam reasoned.  
Asaeriel was quiet a moment. Her friend have point. At last she asked, "Do you trust Sam?"  
"Yes." Miriam said, "Actually I do. Because he told me upfront who he was, what happened and what his intentions were-granted at the time we met his only intentions were getting his body back, but that's beside the point. Can you say the same?"  
A few seconds later the pair came out of the dinner, walking up to the angel, hunter and witch. "Are you okay?" Lola asked.  
"Yeah, I'm fine." Miriam said, then addressing Sam, continued "Asaeriel says she’s willing to work with us on one condition."  
"What?" Sam asked, worried about what this was going to cost him.  
The angels exchanged looks, then Asaeriel said, "I want to see your wings."  
That took everyone by surprise. "Come again?" Dean requested.  
"I want to see his wings." Asaeriel repeated, "I know they're not broken, and now I know he's been hiding it, so I want to see what these things really look like."  
"Alright." Sam agreed. It seemed like a small price to pay.  
Sam stepped a few feet away to give himself some room, and outstretched his wings. He was affair they might hit something, as they were rather wide when spread out like this, but to his surprise he didn’t feel them crash into anything.  
When Asaeriel saw them, she covered her mouth in surprise. What Miriam said rang true. They were absolutely gorgeous. And it seemed like so long since she had seen a pair of fully functioning wings. She felt stinging and wetness at her eyes.  
Lola, who couldn't see the wings, was left in confusion by Sam's migration and Asaeriel's sudden show of emotion. "Uh, what's happening?"  
"Sam's got the only pair of wings that aren't broken." Dean explained, "He usually doesn't rub it in the other's faces, but when they come out-this happens."  
"I don't see any-"Lola began.  
"They're apparently invisible to most other species." Dean cut her off, "Something about the plane they're on, or something."  
After a few more moments, Asaeriel seemed to get her bearings back.  
"Can I-Can I fold them back now?" Sam requested.  
"Yes," Asaeriel replied, "Yes, of course."  
"So, are we good now?" Lola asked, still unsure of what exactly was going on.  
"Yes," Miriam said, "Yes, we're good."  
"Okay, then," Dean spoke up, "Aporation stealing Heaven's door is a go."


	29. Operation Stealing Heaven's Door

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team steals the door to Heaven. Then lose it for a little bit. Then find it again.

Asaeriel knocked on the bunker door anxiously, and waited for someone to answer.  
The door opened, revealing Dean. "You weren't followed, were you?"  
"No." Asaeriel replied, "I made sure of it."  
Dean opened the door and gestured for her to come in. "Look who came in from the cold." He called out, as she descended down the staircase where the others were waiting for her.  
"So?" Sam asked, apprehensively.  
"I got it." Asaeriel said, "I'm guarding the door."  
There was an almost collective sigh of relief.  
"So, what now?" Asaeriel asked.  
"Now," Sam began, "We move the door. Now, when we do this, all our operatives are going to have to move fast. I don't want to lose anyone on this."  
"Sam, you do realize that counting you and myself we only have three angels in Metatron's operation?" Gadreel pointed out.  
"Yes," Sam said, "All the more reason for us not to lose anyone. Now, I have a spell that will allow us to move it. I just need a place to move it to. So, any ideas?"  
"What about the woods around here?" Dean suggested, "I mean, they're isolated, we can have an eye on it at all times, and Metatron has no idea where we live."  
"I still have no idea where you live." Gadreel added.  
"Okay." Sam said, "Let's do this."  
The day everything was suppose to happen, Asaeriel realized their plan had hit an unanticipated snag. And that's snag's name was Purah, the angel she had been paired with. The angel she hadn't known about until five minutes before. Now, Sam was going to be there any minute and she no way to warn them.  
"There's has to be some way to get rid of her." Asaeriel thought, looking over the other angel. She was smaller than her, in the body of a child, maybe on the cusp of pubescence. She could see why Metatron had paired them; with their similar looks they could easily pass for a mother and daughter. It wouldn't raise suspicion of any passer-by.  
Her heart jumped in her throat as Sam appeared in the distance. His face fell when he saw the other angel.  
"Lot." Purah said, her brow furrowing in confusing, "What are you doing here?"  
"Um..."Sam began, "Well...uh...you see..."  
With Sam fumbling for an explanation Asaeriel got an idea. She reached out and put a finger to Purah's forehead, and she fell to the ground.  
"What did you do to her?" Sam asked, wide-eyed.  
"She just unconscious." Asaeriel replied, "I figured since they're going to know it was us anyway, no need to bother with silencing witnesses."  
"Alright." Sam said, pulling out the paper he had written the spell on. He read it off.  
Suddenly the ground shook and there was a bright light, thought it didn't unwind like before. After a flash it was gone.  
"Where is it now?" Asaeriel asked.  
"If the spell worked right, the woods around the bunker." Sam replied, then too Asaeriel by the arm and teleported.   
They appeared outside of the bunker. "So where exactly in the woods did you send it?" Asaeriel asked.  
"I'm..." Sam began, "Not sure."  
"What?!"  
After gathering the troops they began an organized search of the woods for the door. Due to the mass of the woods and the fact one couldn't tell where the door was until they opened it, this was an almost impossible task. In fact it took them two days.  
Then, finally, tired and dirty and irritated, Linda and Abner came to a clearing. They just stood there a minute, painting, then Abner began a procedure Sam had instructed.  
Within a seconds the grown swirled, opening up.  
"Holy crap," Linda gasped, "I think we actually found it." Then she pulled out her phone to call the others.  
Soon, they were all gathered around the hole, staring into it.  
"Well, it's...well-hidden."Cas commented.  
Kevin snorted. "Yeah, a little too well-hidden."   
Several of them glared daggers at the boy.  
"Well, it's not like we're all thinking it." Kevin said defensively.   
"Okay," Dean spoke up, "I think I speak for all of us when I say need to bring this thing a little closer to base." Man, I'm getting tired to being the voice reason around here.  
"Okay, I'll make the spell more specific this time and put it across from the bunker." Sam said.  
After Sam once again preformed the ritual, then they checked to make sure it wound up where they needed it to be. Everyone was overjoyed when it unfurled.  
"Okay," Sam berthed, "That's one thing off the list." Though if Sam was being honest he wasn't sure what the next step was. They had the door, now what did they do with it?  
He looked back and saw Dean's and the other's eyes dropping and he realized that might have to wait.   
"You know, you guys don't have to be here for all this." Sam said.  
"No, it's fine." Dean said, though he finished the statement with a yawn.  
Kevin was leaning against Hael, barely awake. "I'll take care of this one." She said, leading him away, "You deal with the others."  
Meanwhile, at Metathon's base of operations , Purah had been found and the door had been discovered missing, along with three angels. It didn't take much to put it together.  
The ex-scribe brushed the angels who had the unfortunate job of telling him out of the room, then started twirling a blade on his desk. "If that's the way you want it Lot, or whoever you are," He said, "So be it."


	30. Awkward Diplomacy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam tried to negotiate with the penitents.

"This is a stupid plan." Muriel said, as they walked through the streets.  
"I know,” Sam murmured back to her, "So, let's go with it, and hope it works."  
The plan they were referring to was the plan to get the angels to actually go through Heaven's door. After consulting with the map, he sent his angels out in teams of two to try to talk to any angels they found.  
No one said it was a good plan.  
Sam was starting to feel that it really wasn’t a good plan, as they approached a rather large gaggle of angels walking down the street. "But if it does go sideways, save yourself," He whispered to her before addressing the group, "Hey guys. Would it, um, be okay, if me and my friend here, um talk to you for a second?"  
"Not the most eloquent way of putting it." Muriel hissed to him.  
"Yeah, well, that's what you get for making me your leader." Sam whispered back.  
"What is it you would like to talk about?" A dark-skinned female angel spoke up making her way to the front of the group.   
"That's, um, kind of complicated." Sam began, "You see...um..."  
"We have a door that goes to Heaven and we want you to go through it with us." Muriel cut in, then cast her eyes down and said, "Sorry, sir."  
"No, it's all right." Sam said, "You just saved me from making a complete fool of myself."  
Sam's reaction to being interrupted caught the other angel's attention. "I'm Rebecca." She said, extending a hand to shake, "And who are you, brother? I don't believe we've met before."  
"Sam." He replied, taking it, "I'm new."  
"Well, Sam," Rebecca responded, "Let's talk."  
Sam and Rebecca went off to discuss things in private while Muriel and her faction stayed on the street corner.  
"Is she going to be okay back there with your people?" Sam asked, "My friend, I mean?"  
"No need to worry, Sam." Rebecca replied, "My people and I are done with the bloodshed. There's no safer place for her."  
Sam let out a sigh of relief.   
"So, this door your friend was talking about?" Rebecca asked, "What's the catch?"  
"No catch," Sam replied, "I really just want to get a lid on this situation under control and the fastest way to do that is getting everyone back in the sky mall."  
"United under you, I assume." Rebecca snipped.  
"Actually, it’s the opposite." Sam responded, "I haven't told the others this yet, but as soon as I get everyone back home, I'm stepping down."  
Rebecca blinked in surprise. This angel was different from the other faction leaders.  
However, before she could response a harsh voice behind them said, "How about a little sooner than that?"


	31. Fighting For Your Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and the Penitents do battle.

They turned around to see two men, obviously angels, weapons drawn.  
"You don't have to do this." Rebecca tried, stepping in front of Sam.  
"Actually, if we come back, and you and yours aren't dead, our boss will have our heads." One of the angels said, "Literally."  
The angels charge her, but Sam pushed her aside, deflecting his blades with the one he had brought. He shoved them, causing them stumble back a good foot. "Look, the lady's right," He said, "Just walk away now and nobody has to get hurt."  
The man chuckled. "You penitents. You're actually pretty entertaining." Then he attacked again, but this time Sam stabbed him in the stomach. His eyes and mouth glowed as he feels to the grow, after-imaged wings appearing on the ground.  
The other man backed up, looking surprised and scared. They hadn't been expecting much of the fight, let alone lethal violence. Suddenly, he panicked, running away.  
Sam started to go after them, when Rebecca grabbed his arm. "Don’t," She said, "He's not a threat anymore."  
"He and his buddy there just tried to kill us," Sam argued, "And now he's going to go running to his boss and tell him the job's not done. Plus, we could make him tell us who his boss is."  
"Take your pick," Rebecca replied, "You know as well I do what it's been like down here."  
Before Sam could argue further they heard screaming the sounds of fighting from where they had come. "Come on." Sam said, the pair running back in that direction.  
When they arrived, they found a fierce battle ensuing, Muriel and the penitent’s verses about eight attackers. They were putting up a pretty good fight, but serval in their number were on the ground, dead.  
Just then one of the attackers was about to go for the death blow on another victim, when Muriel got in-between them, and stabbed him. She then grabbed his blade and ran to the next one.  
Sam and Rebecca jumped into the fray. One if the attackers went at the female angel, but Sam quickly put him down. Soon it was a mess, of slashing and hitting and running, until at last it appears they had defeated the intruders.  
Then a long olive-skinned female angel ran at Sam, only for Rebecca to come out of nowhere, stabbing her in the knee.  
"I'm guess I'm more of a technical pacifist." She told Sam.  
"Works for me." Sam replied, "Mind helping me lock her up?"  
Rebecca had group of her angels help Sam restrain his prisoner and secure her in the trunk. Then Sam got on the phone and starting calling people.  
"Okay,” He said, on the phone with Dean, walking back and forth and trying to ignore the pounding and screaming from inside the trunk, "Thanks, Dean. See you in a few." Then he hung up, turning towards Rebecca. "Okay, so the others are on the way, we're going to get you back to the bunker safe, I promise."   
He tried to ignore the violent struggling coming from the trunk, but Rebecca's eyes glazed over it. "What are you going to do with her?"  
"Get to the bottom of this." Sam replied, "I think things have gone on long enough, don't you?"


	32. An Unexpected Second Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys use an...unusual method to get the answers they need.

Hagar banged against the top of the trunk, trying to get out but it was no use. She kicked with the leg Rebecca had stabbed, and a surge of pain went through it. Tears of pain and emotion welled in her eyes.  
It was ironic, she thought, she had only joined a faction to survive, and now it was what was going to get her killed.   
The trunk opened up revealing the rather harsh-looking faces of Sam and Dean Winchester. She knew it was all about to be over.  
She wanted to fight, to scream, to beg for her life even, but for some reason she found herself unable move, even the slight struggle the warded cuffs allowed for, and her mouth suddenly went dry. She just allowed them to drag her into the bunker.  
She fought back a flinch as her wrist were pulled into the air, along with the rest of the body. Dean Winchester stood in front of her, blade in hand.  
"Okay, let's start this off with an easy one," He began, "What's your name?"  
Hagar just stared him down. If she was going to die, she was going to do it with what precious little dignity she had left.  
"Come on, you have to have one." Sam spoke up.  
Does it really matter now, anyway? She thought as she said aloud, "Hagar."  
"Well, Hagar." Dean began again, starting to walk around, "Why don't you make this easy on all of us and tell us who you're working for."  
Hagar just stared at him.  
"Okay, guess not." Dean sighed, almost remorseful, before making the first cut.  
It had been over an hour and a half and Hagar still hadn't broken. Which was impressive, considering the damage was so bad Sam insisted they stopped to heal her, lest she die before they get what they need. Dean decided to use the time to take a break.   
He walked into the main room to find Castiel and Muriel sitting at one of the tables.   
"How's it going?" Cas asked.  
"Not good." Dean admitted, "Either we've gone soft, or that chick had a high threshold for pain."  
"Have you learned anything?" Muriel asked.  
"Her name is Hagar, and that's about it." Dean replied, then he notice Cas jump, his eyes wide at the mention of her name, "Hey, you okay?"  
"You're sure that's her name?" Cas asked, "Hagar?"  
"Yeah," Dean said, walking closer to him, "You know her?"  
"She under my command," Cas replied, "Before the Apocalypse. You're sure it's her? You're sure she wasn't lying?"  
"I guess she could have," Dean admitted, "How well did you know her?"  
"Admittedly I didn't know her that well," Cas answered, "But you know how when someone commits a horrible crime, sometimes someone will say they use to be a sweet kid?"  
"Uh-hun," Dean nodded, not sure where this was going.  
"Well, she really was a sweet kid ," Cas continued, " Got along with everyone. I once I had to go find when she snuck off to-" His voice trailed off as an idea formed in his mind, "I think I know how to get her to talk."  
Five hours later Sam re-entered the dudgeon where they left Hagar, healed of most of her wounds, hanging.  
"Can't you just kill me now?" Hagar asked, in what was meant to sound resolute and determined, but came out weak.  
" No, because there's been a change of plans." Sam answered. An incredibly insane change in plans. He thought to himself, as he did not think this was a good plan at all for several reasons.  
"What does that mean?" Hagar ask as Sam approached her.  
Unchaining her Sam answered, "It means we're trying the carrot, instead of the stick."  
Before she could question that statement's meaning, Dean Winchester walked in again, accompanied by, to her surprise, her old commander, who was holding a small pink bundle. A pink bundle that was moving.  
"Is that a..."Hagar began, but stopped when a little pale, bald head poked out, "W-What's a-What's an infant doing here?"  
"We found her in behind a firehouse." Cas answered, "The men hadn't found her yet."  
Neither he nor Dean could believe their luck when they saw the cardboard box and walked up to it, just to check. It was certainly easier than their original plan of snatching a tot from foster care. And would draw less attention from the authorities.  
Before the confused Hagar could question it any further Cas asked, "Would you like to hold her?"  
In spite of herself, Hagar nodded, and Cas walked up and handed the child to her.  
"Careful now," Sam caucioned, clearly uneasy, "Support the head."  
"Hello there." Hagar said, bouncing the child gently in her arms, staring down at her in amazement, "Hello, there you beautiful, little thing. Who could ever leave something so precious outside in the cold?"  
"Firehouses will contact the proper authorizes and take care of the child until they get there." Sam spoke up, "It's not the most common thing, but it does happen."  
As the baby wrapped a little hand around Hagar's finger, a horrifying fact hit her. "Why did you bring her here, then?"  
"We thought," Dean began, "Maybe you would want to keep her."  
Surprised and confused, Hagar's head jutted up. "W-Why? I'm your enemy. Why would you trust me with her?"  
"Because you are incapable of hurting a child." Castiel spoke up, "You love them too much."  
Hagar gave him a challenging look.  
"Remember the NICU?" Cas reminded her, "When I found you had your face pressed against the glass. Said you just had to have closer look."  
Hagar bit her lip. She remembered the incident. She knew it was true. She adored children, they were just so small, and fragile and beautiful. They needed protecting, and care. And that was why she couldn't have one. "I can't." She said, "I don't know how to care for her properly. I would hurt her. I wouldn't mean to, but, I would. She's better off with her own kind."  
"We'd help you." Sam offered, "Or at least hook you up with people who can."  
Tears welled up in her eyes as another harsh reality hit her. "I don't deserve her," She said, shaking her head, "Not after what I've done. I picked a side just to save my own skin, and I've done, horrible things for them, I've killed for them!"  
Startled by the raised voices, the child started to cry.  
"I'm sorry," Hagar said quickly, pacing back and forth, bouncing the baby, "I'm so sorry." Then she started humming, which seemed to sooth the baby girl.  
"Wow," Dean said, "For some who wouldn't know how to take care of her, you sure knew how to handle that."  
Hagar shrugged. "I've been watching human mothers do it for centuries." She would secretly spy on them, taking note of everything they did with a twinge of envy at their ability to bear a child. A ability she didn't have. Well, tecnicaely now she could conceive in her human vessel, but it was forbidden.   
"As for the things you've done," Cas added, "You not too far gone that you can't atone for it. Starting with which faction you're with."  
Hagar looked down at the baby in her arms. Then she looked back up at the group. "Bartholomew. He's the one who ordered the attack."  
The men exchanged looks. "Well, at least it's one we already knew about."  
"But why would he want them dead?" Sam asked, "They're basically pacifists. Not really a treat to anyone."  
"Doesn't matter." Hagar replied, "Still another place angels can go."  
"Well, what else can you tell us about him?" Dean asked.  
Letting her daughter wrap a hand around her finger, giving them a steely gaze. "Everything."


	33. The Bait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam sets a trap for his rival. Hammy acting ensues for some reason.

Bartholomew looked up at the sound of feet in the doorway of his office. He saw a very nervous looking male angel.  
"What is it?" The pale-haired angel growled. He was in no mood for these unexpected interruptions. Not after just learning his operatives had been killed by the penitents, instead of the other way around.  
"There's-a someone on the phone for you, sir." The other angel sputters, "Claims to be the one responsible for the massacre of our troops."  
Bartholomew immediately ordered the phone brought to him. "You got some nerve." He snarled.  
"Hello to you, too." Sam said on the other end of the line, "This is the second time I've nearly got caught in the crossfire on one of your little campaign, so I thought it was about time we've talked."  
"So, I take it you weren't actually with the penitents?" Bartholomew asked, curiosity overwhelming him, added, "Why were you there, then?"  
"Same reason at you." Sam replied, "Or similar at least. But after your little-disastrous attack-you know what humans say about the enemy of my enemy being your friend?"  
Bartholomew was quiet for a moment, trying to think of a response. He was somewhat used to his power being challenged. He wasn't however, use to those usurpers calling him for friendly chat. "How did you know I was the one who ordered the attack?"  
"We left one little survivor," Sam answered, looking over at Hagar, who was sat next to Dean, rocking a sleeping Tizrah in her arms, "She's stubborn, but after a little while, and a-lot of pain, she was begging to tell us everything." He paused for dramatic effect before saying, "I'd give her back to you if-"  
He was cut off by Bartholomew laughing. "Why would I ever want that little traitor back? You can keep her."  
Sam paused a minute, actually somewhat horrified at the disregard for Hagar's life. "Well, she would make a nice little recruitment tool." He oiled after a moment. He got so into it he reached out and stroked Hagar's cheek, causing the startled angel to rear back. Even Dean gave him a quizzical look.  
Sorry, He mouthed.   
"Recruitment tool?" Bartholomew asked, confused.  
"I'll haul her out to show how the great Bartholomew treats his people." Sam explained, "First he sends an undermanned mission to their deaths, then, when he learns of a survivor in peril, he doesn't even try to rescue her."  
"So, I should look past the fact that she gave information to the enemy?" Bartholomew replied.  
"You don't know exactly what she gave up," Sam countered, "Or what kind of conditions she was under. Perhaps I said I would spare the others if she told."  
"Was that what you told her?" Bartholomew asked.  
"Meet with me and I'll let you know." Sam offered, smiling wickedly for a moment, then frowning when he realized what he was doing. Why did he keep doing that?!  
"How do I know this isn't some kind of trap?' Bartholomew asked.  
"You don't." Sam admitted, "But then again, I don't know I won't be walking into an ambush."  
Bartholomew was silent for a moment, mauling over Sam's point. "Alright." He conceded, "Where do you want to meet?"  
Sam gave him information for the meet, then hung up. "It's done."  
"Are you sure about this?" Hagar asked, "He probably won't even come. Or at least he'll bring an ambush with him."  
"That's why we're going to be ready." Sam replied, "Or at least as ready as we can. This guy's reign of terror has gone one long enough, it’s time to nip this in the bud."


	34. The Trap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And which is IS a trap and Dean gets a little violent.

Sam was leaned up against the car waiting for Bartholomew. As it got closer to the time they agreed, he feared that he might be a no-show.  
Then a black car pulled up. The back opened up and two male angels stepped out. Neither of them matched the description Hagar gave of her ex-boss.  
"What's this?" Sam asked, rooted to his spot.  
From his spot hiding in the bushed with gun with melted down angel-blade bullets Dean was wondering the same thing.   
"You said you wanted a meeting." One of the angels answered.  
"With your boss." Sam stressed, "I may not have a picture but I know neither of you are him."  
It was then Dean saw to his horror, third angel sneaking up behind Sam. Before he could attack Dean fired, hitting the angel in the shoulder.  
A moment later, chaos erupted.  
Sam turned around at the sound of the shot, and the angel behind him continued his attack only for Sam to push him aside. He stepped back, only for the other two to grab onto him. The three struggled, but eventually, they tossed Sam in the car before getting in themselves and driving off.  
"Damitt!" Dean cursed before running to the car to follow them.  
In that car, Sam was still fighting his captors kicking and struggling against them, sending one into the floor of the car.  
"Settle down, will you?!" That angel exchanged, pulling himself up.  
In response Sam introduce the sole of his shoe to the angel's face, inadvently shoving him into the driver's seat.   
"What the Hell is going on back there?!" the driver exclaimed.  
"This one's not going down without a fight." The angel holding Sam down explained.  
"I know the boss said he wanted him alive, but does that nessacrily mean in one peace?" The driver suggested.  
Looking at Sam with malice, the angel he had kicked said, "I'm willing to chance it."  
The angel took out a blade, but before he could make the first cut, the whole car shook, being bumped by an outside force. It bumped them again, running them off the side of the road, sending the car spinning and two of them flying from the car.  
Dazed, Sam forced himself upright as the back door opened, revealing Dean. "You okay?" He asked, helping Sam out of the totaled vehicle.  
"Yeah," Sam replied, "Awesome timing."  
Dean deposited his brother into the backseat, then turned to look at his kidnappers. Two were spread out, severely injured-if they were human they'd probably be dead-and one was crawling out of the car. Dean marched over to that one in stabbed him fatally, then went over to the other two, almost systematically repeating the process before walking back to the car.  
"I guess that means we're going with plan B." Dean said, getting in the driver seat.  
"I guess." Sam replied, "Man, I was hoping it wouldn't come to that." Plan B was lot more complicated and high-risk, especially since half of it hinged on people acting in ways they couldn't control.  
But it looked like they would have to go with it.


	35. Scorched Earth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam strips Bartholomew's faction bit by bit in some rather--creative ways.

The first step of plan B was a visit to a police station.  
"Yes, I would like to report a missing person." Sam said, "For a Sylvia Rogers."  
"And how do you know this person?" The officer asked.  
"She's my cousin." Sam lied, "I haven't heard from her in two weeks, it's really unlike her. I tried calling earlier, but they said sometimes adult just go off but-"  
"At two weeks, something's definitely wrong." The officer agreed, "When was the last time you saw her?"  
"The last time I saw her she was heading to Boyle's ministries, in Austin." Sam replied.  
According to Hagar, Bartholomew had inserted himself and his people in a televangist operation to find new vessels. So far it had worked but Sam didn't think that would be the case if they were dealing with a dozen or so missing persons investigations.  
Varying the time out, each person got a turn pretending to be a vessel's or someone who had gotten blown up trying to be ones', concerned cousin, sister, brother co-worker, or friend. It didn't take too long for police to make a connection.  
Just to seal the deal, Sam anonymously reported some shady finical dealings to the IRS.  
"Sam, can we ask you something?" Hagar asked, with Muriel and Rebecca at her side, after he was finished.  
"Sure." Sam replied.  
The three females angels exchanged glances. "We were wondering..."Hagar began, her voice trailing off.  
"How is this going to defeat Bartholomew?" Muriel finished for her, then her eyes went to the ground.  
Sam paused a minute to think of how to best explain it to them. "The idea is that we'll cause so many problems for him he'll be forced to come out."  
"And then you'll kill him?" Muriel asked.  
"If it comes to it." Sam replied. As he said it thought it probably would. From what he heard the guy lusted for power and would destroy anyone who got in his way.  
Which was why he was very fearful for the cops they sent after him.  
Fortunately for all involved, while he was a maniac, he was a smart maniac who knew that slaughtering police would draw unwanted attention. He just let hid in the back, watching the qausi-raid with gritted teeth.  
Whoever did this was going to pay.  
Two days Hagar was going over a check list with Kevin and Hael.  
"Feed her every time the hands are one the red." She instructed gesturing to the watch where she had circled Tizrah's feeding times.  
"Got it." Kevin said, taking it from her.  
"And after the noon feeding she usually takes a nap." Hagar continued, "But if she won't go down sometimes it helps to rock her. Oh, and there's this little rubber bunny toy she loves-"  
"Hagar," Sam cut her off, "They got this. And if they need help, Dean, Cas, and Mrs. Tran are here, too. Two out of three of them do have experience raising babies."  
"Alright." Hagar said, thought that only made her more nervous. While she trusted Kevin's mother, she wasn't sure about the other two, especially given what Dean had done to Bartholomew's soldiers. It just seemed to her as unessercarily cruel. She gave Tizrah one last kiss on the head, and said, "Goodbye, my love," as she and Sam walked out the door.  
A half hour later, Sam was anxiously waiting on the corner while Hagar talked to her former comrades in a nearby building. He had been talking off the cuff when he talked about using her to recruit angels, but he realized it was kind of a good idea. Or at least using her to break the faction up. He didn't really care who the angels went to after that.   
He just wished she hadn't insisted on going alone.  
As he heard high-heels running across the side-walk, it appears his worst fears had been realized. A disheveled-looking Hagar came into view, saying, "We need to go. Now. "  
Sam reached out to grab her arms and zapped out of there just before an angry mob of angels turned the corner.  
When they landed back in the bunker, Dean was on the floor with Tizrah. When she rushed over to them he began, "Okay, I know I'm not your favorite person at the moment for some reason, but-"  
However, Hagar didn't seem to notice him, scooping up the child saying, "Ooh, you precious thing, my precious little girl,” in an almost weepy voice, holding her close.  
"I take it things didn't go well." Dean guessed.  
After calming down, Hagar proceeded to tell them what had happened. It was actually going okay, until a couple of the die-hard loyalist started shouting from the crowd, calling her a traitor, until they had railed up a mob.  
"I'm sorry, Sam," She finished, "I tried to hold my ground, but there were so many of them, and they go so angry-"  
"It's okay," Sam interjected pulling Hagar into a side hug, "You don't have to do it again. We'll find some other way."  
At least that was the plan until one day Castiel was sent on a food run and noticed he was being followed. At first he tried a couple of evasive maneuvers, but he couldn't shake them. He gently wrapped his fingers around the gun in his jacket, ready to fight, when one of them said, "We're not here for you."  
He turned around. "Excuse me?"  
"Maybe later, " The angel who spoke earlier, a male with somewhat shaggy light brown hair, "But not now. We were hoping you could help us find a friend of ours."  
"And why would I do that?" Cas asked, an edge in his voice.  
The other angel, also male, spoke up almost timidly, "We, ah, think she might have been right."  
Against his better judgment Cas lead them back to the bunker, and it turned out they were on the up and up. After that they paraded Hagar out five more times, with much greater security. Sam was not going to be responsible for making Tizrah an orphan twice. (Not that anyone outside the inter-circle knew about her.)  
With human authorities investigating every part of Bloye ministries, and his soldiers disappearing Bartholomew was about to snap. He was pacing and gashing his teeth when the phone was brought to him. "Let me guess." he seethed, "You."  
"Yep." Sam replied, from the other end, "So you want to try this again?"  
The next say Sam was waiting by the car again, when yet again another car pulled up. This time one singular angel with pale brown hair, almost blonde, stepped out.  
"Bartholomew." Sam declared, "Didn't think you'd actually come alone."  
Suddenly, armed angels appeared from all around them.  
"I didn't." Bartholomew said, smiling almost sadistically.  
A few seconds later Sam's allies, human and angel appeared as well.  
"Neither did I." Sam replied.


	36. The Showdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Bartholomew face off.

Almost immediately chaos erupted, both sides charging at the other.  
Soon there were loses on both sides. Angels were stabbed or smited, falling to the ground, dead.  
Dean was mere seconds from adding to the count, when he found himself tackled to the ground. He was turned around and saw one angel pinning him to the ground, and the one he had been fighting standing over them both.  
"You want this one?" The angel holding him down asked.  
"You know I do." The other angel replied before going down with the blade. However, before he could make it to his target his froze, his body glowing in a flash of light for a moment. He fell to the ground, revealing Hagar holding a knife.  
Mere seconds later the angel pinning Dean to the ground was pried off by Muriel and Gradreel. Realizing he was outnumbered, the angel fled. Instead of following them, they went over to Dean and helped him up. "Are you alright?" Muriel asked.  
"Yeah." Dean replied, "Thanks, guys."  
Meanwhile across the field, Hael was standing off with another angel, one she had knew from before, both unwilling to make a move.  
"You know, there is another way." Hael said.  
"What?" The angel, a female named Raquel responded, "Join your faction?"  
"That," Hael admitted, "Or you could just walk away."  
Raquel scoffed. "A little too late for that, don't you think?" She gestured to the battle going on around them.  
Hael paused a moment. That was good point. "I can get you out." Hael tried, "I'll sneak you out, to safety."  
It was Raquel's turn to pause, looking at the battle around them. "I don't see how," She said, finally, but let's give it a try."  
Bartholomew was unaware of all this. He was too focused one Sam. He saw one of his angels about to go attack. Jumping across the fray, he threw his angel away screaming, "No! This one is mine!" Then he turned to Sam, a manic grin on his face.  
Sam pulled his blade and charged, the blade meeting the pale hair's angel's. Then they backed up and charged again. Sam dodged out of Bartholomew's way, getting a small nic. Then he pushed Bartholomew to the ground.  
"No wait!" Bartholomew pleaded, his hand up in the air as Sam went for the death blow, "Please don't!"  
I spite of himself, Sam paused. This monster had been the cause of so much suffering and here he was, begging for his life? He resumed his blade's descent, but his hesitation was all Bartholomew needed.  
He grabbed onto Sam's arm, pulling him to the ground and jumping on top of him. Sam's face stung as he hit Sam once, then again. "Oh, I am going to take my time and enjoy this." Bartholomew said before making a small cut.  
Suddenly Bartholomew was pulled off of Sam, his blade falling to the ground. Sam slowly sat up to see Bartholomew and Castiel rolling on the ground.  
In the heat of the moment, Cas grabbed a nearby blade and slit Bartholomew's throat. A sliver of white grace flickered around the wound, and before Cas could even contemplate what he was doing, he opened his mouth, sucking it in. He was vaguely aware of Bartholomew screaming, but he couldn't really focus in anything as the power pulsed through him. Everything was blur for a moment, and when he came to, Bartholomew was one the ground, his eyes burnt out.   
"Cas," Sam said in hushed voice, "What did you just do?"  
A few hours later, all the rival angels had fled or died, using Sam and his group to clean up the bodies.  
"You okay?" Dean asked, as they threw another body into the pit they had made.  
"Yeah," Sam replied, "It's just...this was intense."  
"We've been through worst." Dean shrugged.  
Sam scoffed. "Yeah, I guess."   
"And, hey, at least there's one less thing to worry about." Dean said, gesturing to Bartholomew's corpse, "Who got him anyway?"  
"Cas, believe it or not." Sam replied.  
"I'm not even gonna ask." Dean responded, before going off to get the lighter fluid.  
As Sam looked into the grave containing both enemies and allies, he got the feelings their problems were just beginning.


	37. A Brief Reprieve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To distract themselves from the lull, Sam and Dean begin a hunt.

Sam walked into the bunker kitchen to find Dean sitting at his laptop with his head in his right hand staring at the screen. It was a bit concerning.  
"Hey." He called out.  
Dean barely looked up and answered in a raspy voice, "Hey."  
"I thought going to bed after the movie." Sam said, regretting leaving him alone.  
Dean cleared his throat. "What? Uh, no. I was, but then, 'Unforgiven' came on, and then I was too jacked to sleep, so...research."  
"Uh, huh," Sam said, not really believing him, "And you didn't try to get Cas to come out of his room after I left?"  
The battle hadn't been easy on any of them, and everybody reacted in their own way. Hael never left Kevin's side anymore, or perhaps it was the other way around. Hagar threw herself into mother hood. Castiel had locked himself in his room, and wouldn't come out. It wouldn't be so concerning were it not that it had been over a week, the others were on their way to recovery, and no one had even heard anything from the room. Dean managed to peak through the keyhole and saw him up at the bed, staring at the ceiling so they knew was alright. The Winchester had been going in shifts, trying to get him to come out. It got particularly intense last night and Sam tried to distract Dean with Rudy just to give him a break. Unfortunately he had to deal with a situation with the angels before he could actually see to it Dean got off to bed.  
"No," Dean replied, "I can prove it. I, ah, found us a case."  
"Are you sure this is really a good time?" Sam asked, "With everything going on?"  
"Sam, everything's at stand-still."Dean responded, "We haven't found any new angels, no new angels have found us, and Cas doesn't have to come out to eat, drink, or piss, so he's not coming out until he's ready."  
Realizing Dean was right Sam said, "Okay, what is it?"  
"There was a strange death Stillwater, Minnesota." Dean answered, "A competitive eater died after a hot-dog eating contest."  
"So what?" Sam asked, coming over to him, "Death by tube steak?"  
"If only." Dean replied, "He got attacked in his car, but , uh, get this-he shrunk from 300 pound to 90 pounds."  
Yeah, this is one of ours. Sam thought. "Witchcraft?" He guessed.  
"Or a heavy -duty laxative." Dean quipped, "You game?"  
"Yeah," Sam confirmed, "Just give me a minute to put some things in order."  
And so after putting Muriel in charge and saying they didn't know when they would be back, the Winchesters left.  
Dressed as FBI, they had to wait for someone to talk to them. At last the sheriff, as woman with blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, came over to them holding two files, one of which she handed to Sam. "Thanks for your patience, agents." She said, "Corner's report finally came in."  
"All right, thank you." Sam replied, opening it, "All right, let's see. Did Wayne McNut really weigh 300 just moments before his death?"  
"316 to be exact." The Sheriff confirmed.  
In spite of himself, Sam was taken aback. "And the official cause of death?"  
"Cardiac arrest." The Sheriff answer, "But between you and me, that's just a guess. The vic suffered massive organ damaged . " She turned around and gave the report to a girl at a desk, "Here you go, Jenny." Then she continued talking to the boys, "Ruptured spleen, pierced liver, collapsed lung. Looked like everything was just stocked right out of him." When she finished, she poured herself some coffee.  
"Like he'd been hovered?" Dean asked.  
"Yeah." Donna replied, "Yeah, you know, I got to be honest fellas-hm?" She took a powdered doughnut out of box and offered them one.   
Dean gladly walked over and grabbed one for himself.  
"We're stumped." The Sheriff admitted, "This type of thing just doesn't happen in Stillwater." She took a big bit of the donut, covering her mouth and black tie with the white powered sugar.  
Looking at the report, Sam asked, "Now, did Wayne have any enemies?"  
"Hmm." Sheriff responded, "More like an unfriendly rivalry."  
Dean took a big bite of his own donut and white power covered his lips and face.  
"A guy named 'Slim Jim' Morgan." The Sheriff continued, "Like Wayne, he was pretty well-known in the competitive-eatin' circuit."  
Sam looked up from the report and noticed Dean's face. He tried to subtlety motion to him to wipe his face. Dean whipped the side of his which took off exactly none of the powered sugar. Giving up, Sam tried to stay focus on the sheriff. "Competitive-eating circuit? Is that a big thing out here?"  
"Oh, yeah." The Sheriff confirmed, "You betcha. Folks take it real seriously--train for months. Eat all sorts of wackadoo stuff, you know, like, uh...Baked beans, buff wings, butter."  
That threw Dean for a loop. "Butter?"  
"Yeah." The Sheriff confirmed, "Sometimes deep-fried."  
"Hm." Dean mused, taking another bite and spreading powder everywhere.  
"This year alone, Wayne won the Butter Bowl, the Wing Dig, and Shrimptasia." The Sheriff explained, "Anyhoo, point being, Wayne McNut was the only one Slim Jim couldn't beat in the whole Great Lakes region."  
"So is he a suspect?" Dean asked.  
"We checked him out, but Slim Jim was in the Hot Doggery at the time of Wayne's death, and we got 15 witnesses to prove it." The Sheriff Replied.  
Dean didn't know what he couldn't believe more; that after being defeated in a hot dog eating contents that this man went to eat more hot dogs, or that so many people remember seeing him do it. "Really?"  
"Yah." The Sheriff replied.  
Dean and the Sheriff exchanged looks and then took simultaneous bites of their donuts, chewing contently.   
"We got to find out if she's single," Sam thought, "Dean might have just found his soul mate."  
After getting Slim Jim Morgan's address, they went to his house. They found the man feasting on a gigantic bowel of lettuce.  
"Training." Slim Jim explained, with a foul mouth, "When I gear up for a competition, I eat lettuce--stenches the stomach."  
"Yet another reason to stay away from salad." Dean commented, grossed out.  
"Yeah, I think he's turned me off it, too." Sam thought before say aloud, "How well did you know Wayne McNut?"  
"Well, well enough to know he was a weasel and a cheat." Slim Jim replied, "I hate to say it, but, uh, karma's a bitch."  
Dean noticed a shelf full of spell jars and funny-shaped boxes. "This is interesting." He commented.  
"Mala's good-luck charms." Slim Jim offered in way of explanation.  
"And Mala is...?" Dean asked.  
"My old lady." Slim Jim answered.  
"Is your old lady superstitious?" Dean asked.   
"Yah." Slim Jim confirmed, " She's Romanichal. "  
"Romanichal?" Dean asked, understandably confused.  
"Gypsy." Sam explained.  
"But don't call her that." Slim Jim warned, "She says it's reductive. But I think it's a compliment. I mean, gypsies are all the rage on TV- My Big Fact Gypsy Wedding, Gypsy Sisters...Keeping Up With The Kardashians."  
"Um," Sam began before clearing his throat, "You mind if I use your bathroom?"  
"Yeah, go ahead." Slim Jim allowed, "But use the one upstairs at the back. Mala's taking a shower in ours."  
"Right." Sam said, leaving.  
When Sam was gone, Dean asked, "Did you really loose the 'Weiner Winner' by one dog?"  
"Yah." Slim Jim confirmed.  
Sam snuck into the Morgan's bedroom. He could hear the shower running so he took a look around. He noticed a hex bag on the nightstand. Then the shower stopped, so he grabbed it and hightailed it out of there before he got caught.  
Back in the kitchen, Dean still had questions about the hot dog eating compotation.  
"And what are we talkin'?" Dean was asking, "Six inches? Foot longs?"  
"Look, agent," Slim Jim responded, "Am I suspect here, or what? 'Cause unless you got a warrant-"  
Before Slim Jim could finish Sam returned. Clearing his throat, he said, "You, uh, ready to go?"  
"Yeah." Dean said, standing up, "Uh, Mr. Morgan, thank you for your time." He pulled out his card, "If you remember anything else, this is our number and where you're staying locally." After handing Slim Jim their card, they left.  
Back at the motel, Dean was picking as the hex bag on the table. There was human hair and marbles and other weird things. "All right, so we got what appears to be Wayne McNut's hair and ...a big bag full of weird."  
Reading from the lab top Sam explained, "In Romanichal culture, the pouch is called a putsi bag. It's use for hexes."  
"Okay, so what?" Dean asked, "Mala's putting hexes on hubby's competition?"  
Sam shrugged.  
" I mean, what do we have ourselves a Thinner sitch here?" Dean continued.  
"Slim Jim might not even know." Sam said.  
"Hm." Dean responded.  
Just then there was a knock on the door. The boys exchanged looks and Dean got up with his gun drawn. He looked through the peephole and saw a lovely dark haired woman he recognized as Mala. He shrugged and opened the door. Mala smiled at him.  
"Hi." Dean greeted, not knowing what else to say.  
"I believe you have something of mine." Mala replied.  
They let Mala into the room and asked her point-blank if she had did Wayne in with the Putsi bag. She got so enraged that Dean had to give her a glass of water.  
"Kill Wayne?" She explained once she had calmed down, "I loved him!"  
"So...you were..." Sam stammered, for some reason uncomfortable using the words 'having an affair.'  
"Yes." Mala responded, "Okay? We were having an affair--for years actually."  
"I don't mean to be rude, uh..." Dean began, "But how is it that Wayne McNut is your type? I mean, you married a man who's barely a buck--wet."  
"What can I say?" Mala replied, "Sometimes it's nice to feel a little give..."  
"Oh." Dean responded, "Yeah, I get that--a little extra cushion for the, uh..."  
Sam shot Dean a glare that caused him to stop awkwardly.  
Trying to regain the conversation, Sam said, "Help me understand something. If you loved Wayne, why did you put a curse on him?"  
"It wasn't a curse." Mala answered, "Putsi bags are also used for blessings. I wanted Wayne to win. Plan was, take the prize money, get a quickie divorce, and then tie the knot in Orlando." Quietly she added, "Wayne use to call me his 'Princess Jasmine.'"  
Dean smiled almost wistfully but hid it when Sam looked over.  
Meanwhile back in Kansas, Kevin was attempting to show Hael a romantic afternoon.  
"Why would you want to eat on the ground when you have a table to eat at?" She asked, watching Kevin spread the checkered planet on the ground.  
"Because it's fun." Kevin answered, smoothing out the blanket.  
"Why?" Hael asked.  
"Because, it's something different." Kevin replied, "Trust me, just give it a try."  
"Okay." Hael said, sitting down next to him.  
Kevin pulled two sandwiches out of his basket, handing one to Hael. Since he had gone to all the trouble of making it for her, she unpeeled the plastic around it and took a bite.   
"I-Is it okay?" Kevin asked, slightly apprehensive.  
"Yes." Hael answered, "What is it?"  
"Ham and cheese." Kevin replied.  
"You're a good cook." Hael commented before taking another bite.  
Kevin chuckled a little. "I just made a sandwich, it's hardly rocket science."  
Before Hael could respond, she noticed someone coming up the road. "Do you see that?"  
"Yeah," Kevin responded, standing up. As they figure out closer they recognized who it was.  
"Muriel?" Hael asked when she got into hearing distance, "What are you doing out here?"  
"Looking for Castiel," Muriel answered urgently, "Have you seen him?"  
"Have you checked his room?" Kevin asked.  
"That's the problem." Muriel explained, "I just went by his room and he was gone and...there was blood on the floor."


	38. Let's Get Physical

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Kevin, Hael, Muriel, and the others look for Cas, Sam and Dean's case takes them to a fitness center.

Muriel lead Kevin and Hael back to the bunker, where they found there was in fact, a large spot of blood on the floor of Castiel's room in front of a shattered mirror. What's more, there were several holes in wall, as well what few objects were in the room thrown around, the small dresser broken.  
"Is it his?" Kevin asked, "Does angel blood like give off a certain signal to you guys?"   
"No." Muriel answered, "I don't know if it's his, but something happened here. I don't want to this to get out until we know more about what's going on, so the only person I have helping me is your mother."  
"Not anymore." Kevin volunteered.  
The next morning in Minnesota, still unaware of what was going on back home, Sam and Dean got word of another vacuumed body at the local gym.  
"Any idea what the vic weighed before hand?" Sam asked one of the officers while Dean examined the poor woman's body.  
"165." The officer answered.  
"So...180." Dean guessed, "Known fact-all women lie about their weight and age."  
"Wait, you told that waitress the other day that you were 29." Sam remembered.  
"Mm-hmm." An abashed Dean murmured.   
"Need anything else, agents?" The officer asked.  
"Yeah," Sam answered, "Is Sheriff Hanscum around?"  
"Sorry." The officer replied, "She's out for the rest of the week. Hell of a time to take a vacation, right?"  
As the officer walked off, Sam walked up to his brother. "Okay, so, we have two victims, with seemingly nothing in common except, uh--"  
"A love for éclairs." Dean quipped, "Check this out."  
They both bended down to look at the body and Dean pulled up her shirt a little to reveal a large, circular red mark. "What is that?" He wondered aloud, "A birthmark?"  
"Huh." Sam mused, "So the weight had to come off somehow, right? What if it's a suction mark?"  
"A suction mark?" Dean repeated, "Okay. Uh, Changeling?"  
"Yeah, but Changelings only take over kids." Sam pointed out, "Neither of the vics had any."  
"And we don't know if Wayne McNut had a suction mark." Dean added.  
"Unless we missed it." Sam suggested.  
"Yeah." Dean agreed, noticing an attractive girl walking in and talking to an officer, "Well, we should, uh, split up. One of us should hit the morgue. The other should stay here and question the staff."  
Noticing what Dean was staring at Sam said, "I'll stay."  
"Ain't gonna happen." Dean told him bluntly.  
"Why?" Sam asked.  
"Because you're weird around girls." Dean replied.  
"What does that mean, weird?" Sam asked.  
"You're awkward." Dean explained, "You know--Sam weird. Sorry man. I'm just...being honest."  
Dean walked away and Sam sighed.  
Later Dean was talking to the attractive gym girl. "So you were scheduled to close the gym last night?"  
"Yeah, but I didn't exactly lock up." The woman confessed, "Carol was still working out, and," the woman sighed, "I had a date. I didn't want to shortchange her, you know? I mean, the poor girl has been working so hard to lose weight for her wedding. I slipped her the key and I told her to lock-up on her way out." She started to cry. When she leaned over to get a tissue her shirt road up and Dean noticed she had the same suction mark as Carol on her back."Oh, it's all my fault."  
When he got back to the hotel Sam hadn't returned from the morgue, so he decided to do some research to find what the three victims-one living two dead-had in common.  
"Hey." Sam said once he returned.  
"Find anything at the morgue?" Dean asked.  
"Yeah." Sam replied, "Uh, so, Wayne was banged up pretty bad. But on the back of his neck, just below the hairline...suction mark-identical to Carol's."  
"Okay, so both had marks, just like the hot trainer at Rollz." Dean said.  
"But she was skinny..." Sam pointed out, "And alive."  
"And just recently lost a ton of weight." Dean added, "When I asked her about the mark, she, uh--she clamed up, got all embarrassed. So, uh, I did some checking. And it turned out she took a couple of ‘me' days last month, and went here." He turned the lab top around to see the website for a day spa.  
"Canyon Valley?" Sam asked.  
"Hm." Dean replied, "Yeah."  
Dean pushed the promo video. Mid-tempo music started to play and voice over with a Peruvian accent began, "When you look in the mirror, do you recognize the fat person staring back at you. Have you tried every fad diet, every fitness trend out there, but nothing seems to work. Here at Canyon valley, we guarantee weight loss with no surgery...No extreme dieting...and in intensive workout regimen. Guaranteed results in one week! You can reach your weight-loss goals. We did. But only if you reach for the phone and call Canyon Valley...Now!"  
"How far away is that place?" Sam asked, thinking it might actually be a lead.  
"Couple of hours." Dean replied.  
That was how Sam and Dean wound up being interviewed by the two people in the promo video, a tall man named Larry and his wife, Maritza, who had done the voice-over.  
"We were really, really moved by the online testimonials." Sam told them.  
"Oh, yeah." Dean agreed, "That was some powerful stuff."  
"Are you boys both certified personal trainers?" Maritza asked.  
"Yeah." Dean lied, "Yeah, personal training brothers. Kind of like Hans and Franz, but, uh, less German."  
"And you're certified in..."Larry questioned.  
"Makin' people sweat!" Dean replied enthusiastically, "Yeah. Kickin' ass and takin' names! "He slammed his hand on the table, "That's how we do!"  
Sam had a feeling the couple were starting to doubt their lagimentcy. And their sanity. "Uh..."He began, thinking of a way to salvage the situation, "Uh, to clarify, what brother's trying to say is, we both have a passion for fitness and helping people."  
"Oh, us, too." Maritza replied, "In fact, that's how we first met."  
"I was Maritza's first client back in Peru." Larry explained, "I was on a student visa-homesick, stressed, eating my troubles away."  
"Oh, he was the size of a Casa." Maritza recalled.  
"Oh, it's true." Larry agreed, "I was one empanada away from a heart attack. But then this...gorgeous, godsend made me the lean, mean, fighting machine I am today." He went crazy with some kungfu fighting techniques to demonstrate.  
"Ho!" Dean responded, acting like he was impressed, "Oh..."  
"But I digress." Larry continued, "Now, good news is, we are hiring. The bad news is, there's only one trainer position available. "He looked at Dead, "How do you feel about working in another's department?"  
"Hun?" Dean responded.  
Later, Dean was staring out the lunch room at the facility, wearing a hair net. Sam approached from the hallway dressed in a tank-top and workout shorts. For a second Dean thought he got the better end of the deal.  
"Nice shorts." Dean smirked.  
"Nice hairnet." Sam quickly shot back.  
"Why do I got to be the lunch lady?" Dean complained.  
"Since when have you ever complained about being around food?" Sam replied.  
"Okay, this is not food." Dean informed him.  
That was when he was interrupted by another kitchen worker. "Hey, new guy. Quit flirtin' with the trainer and keep scoopin', hun?"  
Dean turned back and glared at him.  
Sam checked his watch, then said, "It's alright. My, uh, ...Ashtanga yoga class starts in five minutes."  
"How the Hell do you know anything about yoga?" Dean questioned.  
"You're not the only one who's ever dated someone bendy." Sam answered before leaving.  
If he wasn't made of titanium now I'd make good on that threat to break his nose. Dean thought, as it was the only think he could think of that would come close to fixing this indignity.  
Just then another lunch worker approached him, "Hey, you have any oatmeal?"  
Dean chuckled. "Yeah, I wish. No, but we have, uh, something that's tofu over there. I-what is that? It's a pancake. It's tofu."  
Back at the bunker, Cas had official been missing 24 hours. Having exhausted all avenues of searching Muriel, Hael, Kevin and Linda were gathered around a table discussing their next move.  
"We need to at least call Sam and Dean." Kevin said, "Tell them what's going on."  
"Should we really bother them with this on a case?" Hael asked.  
"Hael, they've practically adopted the guy." Kevin replied, "If they come back and find out that he's missing, probably against his will, possibly hurt-well, do you want to be there when it happens?"  
"Make the call." Muriel ordered flatly.  
Kevin pulled out his phone and started to dial the number when they heard the door open, and someone descend the stairs.


	39. Pudding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel returns, and Dean's sweet tooth gets the better of him,.

"Stay here." Muriel said, taking out her blade and starting up the stairs.  
She crept up the stairs listening as the steps got closer. When it sounded like he was in inches of her, she raised her blade to attack, but froze when she saw who it was. "Castiel?"  
Back in Minnesota, Dean was playing on his phone and the kitchen when he felt something hit the back of his neck, causing him to jerk upright. He found Alonso, the kitchen worker that accused him of flirting with Sam, standing over a tray of kale.  
"Flojo." Alonso called him, "You got time to lean, you got time to clean, huh?"  
Annoyed, Dean started whipping the counter, "I'm starving. What do we get to eat?"  
"Same as the clients." Alonso replied.  
"They expect us to eat this rabbit food?" Dean balked.  
"It's not rabbit food." Alonso chided, "It's supper food."  
"I'm not eating it." Dean mumbled.  
Alonso sighed sitting a bowel of dark yellow pudding next to Dean and several empty bowls. "At Canyon Valley, we're supposed to lead by example."  
"This is leading by example?" Dean questioned.  
"It's not for us, stupido." Alonso scolded, "It's for the clients. They're allowed to have pudding on their spa day. It's like a--a last hurrah before the real work starts. Get to work." And with that he walked off.  
Dean sighed and started to fill a bowel of pudding. Then he got an idea. After checking to make sure no one was watching he took a small spoonful of pudding and put it in his mouth, which was filled with a salty sweetness. "Hm." He mused to himself, "Looks like it's my 'spa day', too." He chuckled and slipped the bowl into his apron.  
Meanwhile, Sam was attempting to teach his Yoga class.  
"Okay, good job, guys." He was saying, "Go to uh...Downward Dog." That's a pose, right? He thought as he showed them, grunting. "Hold for five minutes."  
"Five minutes?" An understandably confused yoga student spoke up, "It's usually 30 seconds."  
"Right." Sam responded, "Yeah, 30 seconds. That's what--that's what I mean." Standing up he continued, "Okay, uh, I'll just come around, make sure everybody's form is okay..."As everyone's shirts road up because of the upside-down position, Sam noticed they all has suctions marks on their back. ".... make sure, uh, keeping your cores tight, and your--uh, good job. Great. Straiten that back up." He had to look like he was doing something, right?  
Meanwhile, Dean had hid away in a small country to eat his contraband pudding, rather pleased with himself.  
"Mmm. Mm." He mused as he finished the last of the concoction. He tried to stand up, but went pale, and swayed sideways. Completely losing consciousness, he fell to the floor.  
After his Yoga class, Sam was greeting everyone as they left.  
"Well done today!" He was saying, "Good job! Good work guys! Good work! Okay. Good work. See you all soon. Good job."  
It was at that point another employee, Larry, came down the hallway towards Sam, wheeling what appeared to be a rather loop Sheriff Hanscum in a wheelchair.  
"How was class? “Larry asked.  
"It was, uh...great." Sam answered, hopping the woman wouldn't say anything, "Yeah."  
"Agent Frehley?" Sheriff Hanscum spoke up, "What are you doing here?"  
"Agent Frehley?" Larry questioned.  
"Uh, I-I-I don't know." Sam stammered, "She must be pretty out of it, hun?" Just then his cell phone rang, rescuing him. "Oh, excuse me. Sorry. I got to get this. Have a good one." Then he walked off, answering his phone, "Yeah?"  
"Sammy." Dean slurred.  
"Dean?" Sam asked, realizing something was wrong, "What's wrong with you?"  
"I need you." Dean said face down, and his limbs tangled on the floor of the pantry.  
"Where are you?!" Sam demanded, alarmed, "Dean!"  
Dean squinted to read the bag of the nearest food. "Sweet potatoes!!" He exclaimed, "Sw..."He lost consciousness and his phone fell to the floor.


	40. Trimming The Fat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Dean discover the identity of the killer while Cas makes a grave decision

Sam ran through the hallways of the resort looking for his brother, pulling open any door he saw. "Dean?" He called out, "Dean! Dean! Dean!"   
He was starting to panic when from behind a door Dean's voice said, "Sammy."  
Sam brush through the door and found his brother still halfway out on the floor. He ran up and started slapping his shoulders. "Dean! Hey! Hey! Wake up!"  
"What took you so long?" Dean groaned.  
"What the Hell happened?!" Sam demanded.  
"I was drugged." Dean answered.  
"Dru--"Sam began, "What?"  
"Pudding." Dean elaborated, still loopy and lying on his stomach, "It was supposed to be for the clients but I couldn't resist."  
Sam saw a bowel nearby. He picked it up and smelled it. "What, salted caramel?"  
"Yeah, man." Dean confirmed, "The best of both worlds--salty and sweet."  
"Right," Sam said realizing Dean would be no help in his state, "Uh...Alright, you stay here."  
"No, no, I'm gonna come with you." Dean protested, however when he tried to get up to follow Sam, he had no balance and fell on the floor, "Go ahead. I'll catch up."  
Sam rushed into the kitchen where he found the chef. "Hey." Sam addressed him, "Did you make the pudding?"  
"Depends." The Chef replied.  
"On what?" Sam asked.  
"Whether you liked it or not." The chef answered.  
In no mood for games Sam angrily slammed the man up against the wall, demanding, "What's in it?!"  
"Relax, Jack Lalane." The frightened chef urged, "It's low-cal. Nonfat milk, sea salt--"  
"No, no." Sam cut him off, still yelling, "Not the ingredients. The something extra."  
"Chill man." The Chef replied, "Supplements, okay?"  
Back in the pantry, Dean was sitting up but had a monster headache. "What kind of supplements?"   
Sam put a hand to Dean's forehead and focused, then handed him an energy drink for good measure, which he die drink. "Here" He handed the supplement bottle to him, "Hey. To boost metabolism per Larry and Maritza."  
Looking in the bottle, Dean declared, "These aren't 'supplements,' they're ruffies."  
"What?" Sam asked, "How do you know what ruffies look like?"  
"How do you not know?" Dean replied, "You think I want to end up in a hotel bathroom with my kidney's carved out? In Chechnya? "He groaned, "Did you find anything at the yoga?"  
"Yeah." Sam answered, "Yeah. Invasion of the body snatchers. Every single person in class had one of those freaky-ass suction marks."  
"What the Hell's goin' on here?" Dean asked.  
Sam thought there was someone who might know.  
"You know," Sheriff Hanscum began, "I didn't mean to bail on you fellas, but I've been waiting over six months to get into Canyon Valley. And let me tell ya, it was worth it. I already lost 10 pounds!'  
"In--in one day?" Sam asked ginunely shocked.  
"No offense Sheriff, --'cause you look great--um, but aren't you the least bit curious as to how you dropped 10 in a day?" Dean added.  
"Well, to tell you the truth, Agent, I don't really give flying fudge." Sheriff Hanscum replied, before chuckling, "My husband, Doug, left me last year 'cause he said I loved cookie-dough milkshakes more than him"  
"Sorry to hear that." Sam said.  
"Yeah, Doug's a dick." Dean agreed, "You deserve better."  
"Thanks." Sheriff Hanscum said, "But he was right. That was a dark time for me. Whoever said eat you pain? Not me. I guzzled it." She laughed, "Anyhoo...I guess I wanted to feel pretty again. And Canyon Valley did that. Only question is...What are you doing here?"  
"We're, uh, uh..."Dean began, "We're undercover."  
"Yeah." The sheriff smiled, "Sort of got that."  
"We think there's a connection between Canyon Valley and the murders in town." Dean explained, figuring a vague version of the truth was best in this situation.  
"What kind of connection?" Sheriff Hanscum inquired.  
"Suction marks." Sam admitted.  
"You mean like this?" She pulled back her shirt and showed them her suction mark.  
"Yeah." Sam replied, "Where did that come from?"  
"My spa treatment." Sheriff Hanscum explained, "Cupping."  
"Cupping?" Dean repeated.  
"Yeah." Sheriff Hanscum confirmed, "You know, I thought it was gonna hurt, but honestly, I snoozed through the whole thing. By the time I woke up, I was down two dress sizes."  
"Before the cupping, did you eat any pudding?" Dean asked.  
Sheriff Hanscum laughed. "Darn tootin'. Licked the bowel clean."  
"Donna, do you remember who did this treatment?" Sam asked, figuring that was who they were looking for.  
"Oh, yeah." Donna replied, "You betcha."  
After getting the Intel from the Donna the brothers split up, looking for Martiza. He found her pouring what looked like fat into the garbage. He was pretty sure she was about to eat from one of the jars when she heard him and turned around to see he had a gun drawn on her.  
"Okay, I'm no health nut, but that's just wrong." He said.  
Apparently what Maritza was could be taken out by bullets, as it did not take much of a fight to tie her to a chair. "All right, talk." He commanded once he was done.  
"This isn't what you think." Maritza pleaded, "I'm not a killer."  
"Well, then, what are you?" Dean asked, humoring her.  
"I'm a Pischtaco." Maritza answered.  
"A fish taco?" Dean asked, highly confused.  
"A Pischtaco." Maritza repeated, "It means 'Peruvian fat sucker.'"  
"Never heard of it." Dean replied, "So, what, you're like vamps with a sweet tooth for cellulite?"  
"Vampires kill." Maritza insisted, "We're just...Parasites."  
"Oh, well, in that case--"Dean began sarcastically.  
"Look, I would never hurt anybody!" Maritza pleaded, "Okay, this--is why Larry and I started Canyon Valley. We could help people lose weight, and I could feed. It's a win-win."  
Dean had to admit, her story might have been believable, were it not for how they caught on to her. "Yeah, except for the two people you Dysoned to death."  
"That wasn't me." Martiza informed him ruefully.  
"Well, then, who was it?" Dean asked.  
Maritza couldn't believe it had come to this. "Alonso."  
"The due from the cafeteria?" Dean asked, actually a bit surprised.  
"He's my brother." Martiza informed him.  
Meanwhile, back at the bunker, Castiel had set down with the rest of the group, allowing Muriel to heal his hand.  
"Who did that to you?" She asked him.  
"I did to myself." Cas answered.  
That shocked everyone into silence. Linda was the first to speak with a simple, "What?"  
"I -I believe the term is I went on a tear." Cas replied.  
"That's one word for it." Kevin responded, "Where were you?"  
"Thinking about some things." Cas explained, "And I've decided...I need to go."


	41. Can't Pick Your Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They guys finish the case only to get a bad surprised when they get home.

"What do you mean you're leaving?" Hael asked.  
"I'm a danger to all of you here." Castiel reasoned, "No angels will join Sam with me around."  
"That hasn't stopped them so far." Linda pointed out, "I mean, half of the group here are angels."  
"That was when I was in the background and they weren't really making the connection." Cas replied, "Before they saw kill another angel and consume his grace."  
"Is that what this is about?" Muriel spoke up, "Everyone knows you were just trying to save Sam."  
"Do they?" Cas responded.  
"He does have a point, not a lot of people actually saw what happened." Kevin added.  
"Yeah, that's not helping, honey." Linda spoke up.  
Cas stood up, "Look, this is exactly what I was hoping to avoid. Just let me get some bus fair and I'll be gone."  
Meanwhile, back at the spa, Larry was confronting his brother-in-law in the kitchen. "I knew you were a lost cause. Unlike you're sister, you're weak."  
"Good to see you too, Larry." Alonso responded, not realizing he had been discovered.  
"How could you do this to her?" Larry demanded, "To us?"  
"Do what?" Alonso asked, thinking he was still in the clear.  
Larry scoffed and held up the article he had found. "This!"  
Alonso realized he had been caught. "Oh, that."  
"Oh, yeah, that." Larry responded harshly, "You know what that means? Hun? Now there are hunters here!" Maritza had told Larry all about hunters when she told him what she was.  
"It's your fault, blanco!" Alonso shot back, "If you didn't starve me, maybe--"  
"Listen, freak!" Larry cut him off, "Your sister and I spent years building this operation. And if you think I'm gonna let your gluttony destroy it, you got another thing coming. I want you out. Now."  
"I'm not leaving Maritza." Alonso informed him.

"Well, I got news for you, pal." Larry responded, "She doesn't want you here, either. Either you leave...or I'll make you."  
Sam was walking by the kitchen and heard a man scream. He ran in and found Larry dead on the floor, his neck bleeding out into the drain.  
He reunited with Dean and they exchanged what they hand found. On the news of her husband's death Maritza, still bound to the chair, burst into tears.  
"I brought Alonso here from Peru to show him a better way, a more civilized way." She lamented, "One where we weren't monsters. That the secret to coexisting with humans was just...eating enough to get by."  
"Let me guess." Sam began, "Alonso wasn't a big fan of portion control, was he?"  
"No." Maritza confirmed, "During a routine treatment, he almost killed a client. He sucked out too much fat. I demoted him to kitchen duty--no human contact, just fat from a jar. But he said the more I deprived him, the hungrier he got." She started to sob. "And now three people are dead. My husband..." Her voice trailed off.  
"Where's Alonso right now?" Sam asked. Time was of the essence. They needed to stop Alonso before he struck again.  
"The--the basement?" Maritza stammered, "That's--that's where he spends most of his time now."  
"What about her?" Sam asked, looking at Maritza.  
"Well, 'till we figure out which side she's on, she's stays put." Dean declared.  
"I am on your side." Maritza insisted.  
"Okay." Sam replied, "Then how do we kill him?"  
After Maritza instructed them in what to do, Dean and Sam went searching in the basement by the light of flashlights. They silently nodded to each other to split up to cover more ground. Dean found Alonso's hide-out with all his empty fat jars.  
Sam on the other side, Sam just came across the dead body of the chef he had accosted earlier. Crap. Poor guy, He thought. Whatever else Sam felt about him, he didn't deserve to die.   
Seeing a wardrobe on the wall, he wanted over to it and began to look in it. Then it fell, trapping him underneath it before he could react. From on top of it, Alonso began to speak. "You and stupido have no chance. The fat makes us stronger."  
Sam threw the wardrobe and Alonso with it, across the room. "Your sister didn't mention that when she ratted you out."  
Alonso got to his feet. "You're lying!" He screamed before growling and leaping at Sam who managed to get out of the way.  
"I guess after you killed her husband...you were too monstrous, even for her." He pulled out the knife and charged up this time Alonso ducked again.  
Alonso charged him again, but Sam punched him again, probably with more force that was nesacary. He stuck out his Pishtaco tongue, but Sam cut it off just as Dean arrived. Alonso screamed and fell dead.  
"Thought you might need help." Dean said, "Apparently I was wrong."  
After cleaning up the evidence of the supernatural, they got the sheriff, who got her men, and they told their cover story.  
"We'll let you know if we need any other information." The officer said, "Thanks for everything. Appreciate it."  
As they walked away, Sam saw Maritza sitting alone in an alcove off the hallway. He walked over to her, gently saying, "Hey."  
Maritza looked up. "What did you tell the Sheriff?"  
"The usual--psycho killer on the lose." Sam answered, "They, uh...they usually buy it."  
"I lost my whole family today." Maritza said quietly.  
"I'm sorry," Sam said sincerely, "I..." His voice trailed off at a loss for words.  
Just then Dean entered the cove. "So," He said, addressing Maritza, “What do you want to do?"  
After putting Maritza on the flight back to Peru, they headed back to the bunker. "Hey guys," Dean called out as they walked in, "We're back!"  
When they were met with silence, they were worried that something was wrong. "Hey, guys." Sam called out, as they walked up the stair, "You okay?"  
Then they reached the top, where everyone was waiting for them.  
"Well, this doesn't look good." Dean said, "What's with the intervention?"  
"Guys, we have something we have to tell you." Kevin said, thumbing a letter in his hand, "It's about Cas."


	42. Distractions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While trying bring Cas home, Sam stumbles on a much larger conspiracy.

Castiel paused as he heard the sound of wings flapping behind him.  
He turned around, prepared for a fight, then he remembered only one angel on the planet with fully functioning wings. "How did you find me?" Sure, he had been missing them, but he didn't think he'd been having any emotions that could lead Sam to him. Plus, he hadn't taught Sam it could be used like that and to his knowledge no one else had.  
"It wasn't easy," Sam replied, "I had to fly to every spot on the bus route."  
"But how did you even know what bus I took?" Cas asked.  
"Read the attendant's mind." Sam replied.  
"Who taught you to do that?" Cas responded, somewhat bewildered.  
"Hael," Sam answered, "Kevin better be on his best behavior, that girl is good. Look, are you going to come back willingly or am I going to have to drag you back?"  
"Neither." Cas replied, "Sam, I know you and Dean disapprove, that's why I left the way I did, but I made my decision. Please accept it."  
"But why?" Sam demanded, "And don't give me that detracting angels, crap. It hasn't been a problem so far."  
"Sam, I killed someone!" Cas retorted.  
"You've killed dozens of angels," Sam began, "That's probably not helping. But this one actually had it coming. You don't need to feel bad about it."  
"It's not just-"Cas began then paused as he heard a pulsing noise, "Do you hear that?"  
Sam nodded. It looked like talking Cas into coming home would have to wait.  
Since they didn't know what they would be walking into they hurried as fast as they could on foot. They finally came to an abandoned factory, just as a pale van which only had windows in the front pulled up. They turned themselves invisible as three men, a woman and a teenage girl got out of the car.  
They followed as the group walked inside, going deeper and deeper into the factory. "Can you narrow it down anymore, Tulip?" The oldest one in the group, a man with pale brown hair spoke up.  
"I don't know," The teenager, a girl with long auburn said, squinting her eyes. One was brown while the other was green. "Maybe-that way." She pointed to the right, the side her brown eye was on.  
"Let's split up just to be sure," The man who appeared to be the leader of the group, said, "Kit, you take Tulip and go right. Duke, you go left. Sean and I will go straight ahead."  
"You go with Sean and the head honcho, there." Sam said, pointing the man in charge and a man in his early twenties with a young face and a brown mop-top, "I'll follow Kit and ...Tulip." Sam wondered who would name their kid that.  
As Tulip and the woman, Kit, walked down the hall, she began to speak. "So, are feeling okay? You've been kind of quiet. Are you still hurt?"  
"No, the last wound healed up a couple of days ago." Tulip replied.  
"Then what's wrong?" Kit asked, "And don't tell me nothing. You don't have to be physic to tell something's eating at you."  
"Last time we were at Jennifer's some of her guards...they said some things." Tulip replied, looking down.  
"Which guards?" Kit demanded, "What did they say? Oh, they are so dead!"  
"Kit, please don't," Tulip pleaded, "I don't-I don't want to cause any trouble."  
Kit looked straight at her. "No one messes with our girl." She declared, "After we get done here I want to know everything."  
The pair walked on for few more minutes finally coming to a room. They walked and froze in shock. So did Sam.  
The room was filled from side to side with dead angels.


	43. Double Hostage Situation, or Questions and Answers and More questions.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam reluctantly take hostages to escape the hunters; when the boys try to figure out what was going on, it proves hard.

Horrified, Tulip buried her head into Kit's shoulder. In turn Kit took into an embrace."It's okay." She hushed, "It's all gonna be okay."  
Sam had to admit, in spite of the horrifying context, it was kind of sweet.  
"Guys!" Kit called out, "We found something!" Then she turned back to Tulip. "It's okay. It's not like they were human."  
A little less sweet now.  
Just then the trio of men appeared, unknowingly accompanied by Castiel. "Whoa," Duke, a man with somewhat stringy dark hair gapped.  
"Check for survivors." Frank ordered.  
Cas walked over to Sam. "Should we make ourselves know to them?"  
"No," Sam replied, "Something's not right about this. Did you learn anything?"  
"Apparently this isn't the first time something like this has happened." Cas answered, "They've had other incidences like this with angels before. Also the girl, Tulip, is physic."  
"And her powers are-?" Sam asked.  
"I'm not sure." Cas admitted, "They were vague when they were discussing it. Apparently she sensed whatever happened here." He paused for a minute, looking out on the sign, "What did happen here?"  
"I don't know," Sam replied, "But it's certainly not good."  
Just then Kit called out, "We got a live one over here!"  
The men ran over to her and pulled a female angel with a slashed face up off the floor. She moaned and limply wiggled, pulling back as Frank tried to touch her face.  
"Go get her secured," He ordered, "Tulip, go with them and fix her when it's done. Me and Kit will make sure there aren't any more."  
"No," The angel managed to moan as they dragged her away.  
Knowing they had to act now, Sam flew across the room, talking Sean and Cas ran over to Duke and did the same. Making themselves visible once more, the angels and human became a mess on the floor.   
Frank pulled out his gun out and shot at their attackers, only to have it bounce off Sam. "What the-"  
"They're like her!" Tulip screamed, pointing at the female angle who was now slumped on the ground, "They're angels I can feel it!"  
Sam punched out Sean and got his feet. "Look, just let us take the girl and leave, and no one has to get hurt."  
"Not gonna happen." Frank said, "Sorry, but we have the numbers here."  
"I just took out one of your men." Sam pointed out, "Do you really want to bank on that?"  
Frank was now focused on something behind him. "I'd turn around if I were you."  
He did and found Duke had Cas up on the ground, a blade from one of the dead angels at his throat.  
"Now, if you just leave with us, I promise you won't be harmed." Frank promised.  
Sam didn't believe that, but he wasn't seeing another option.  
Tulip ran over to Sean rousing him. "Are you okay?" She asked, "Do you need me to fix you?"  
"No, little girl," Sean assured her, standing, "Up, I'm fine. You know you can't get rid of me that easily." Then he briefly hugged before going over with Kit and scooping up the female angle.  
As they regrouped, Tulip wound up just inches away from Sam, giving him an idea. A horrible idea, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and things were pretty desperate right now. Before anyone could act he reached out, snatching the girl and grabbing her at the throat. Within seconds, every free hand had a gun on him. "Let her go." Kit said, her a dangerous edge to her voice.  
"Let him go," Sam responded, "Let them both go, or I'll snap her neck, I'll swear."  
"Sam!" Cas exclaimed in disbelief as Tulip let out a terrified mew that made Sam's heart plummet.  
"Tulip, it's going to be okay." Frank said, "He wouldn't dare."  
"I think you know I would." Sam replied, trying to play the part of the calloused, deadly angel, "What's one human girl?"  
Defeated, Sean dropped his hold on the female angel. "Drop the blade, Duke."  
"Sean!" Duke balked, "We can't just-"  
"Drop it, Duke!" Sean screamed.  
"Do what he says." Frank added.  
Duke let the blade drop to the floor with a clang.  
Castiel took the female angel and walked over to Sam. "Sam, were you really-" He began.  
"Not now." Sam whispered harshly. Of, course he had been bluffing, but they didn't need to know that.  
"Okay, you got what you wanted." Frank said, "Now let the girl go."  
"When I get us out of here." Sam said, weary of a potential attack. Still, he hated hearting the girl so he gently whispered in her hear, "It'll be alright. I'll let you go when I get the others to safety, I promise."  
Cas put his arm in Sam's and they took off.  
Dean was walking down the hall when he heard the sound of bodies hitting the floor in a rough heap, and screaming. Running towards the sound he found Sam, Castiel and two women who he didn't recognize. The older one had long cuts on her face while the other, more of a girl really, was on the floor backing away from Sam shouting, "Get away from me!"  
"Tulip, it's alright," Sam urged, "I'm not gonna hurt you."  
"I think it's understandable if she doesn't believe you." Cas said tersely, healing the woman.  
"Ah, hey guys," Dean began, "What's going on?"  
They all turned to look at the elder Winchester. "Oh, hey Dean," Sam said awkwardly, "Good news, I found Cas."  
"Yeah, and apparently a couple of other people." Dean observed.  
Sam looked between the female. "Right," He said, "This is-" He trailed off as he realized he didn't know the name of the older woman.  
"Hannah." The woman said, "Thank you for saving me."  
"No problem," Sam replied, "And this is Tulip she's apparently physic and hangs out sketchy hunters, and...really, that's all we know at this point."  
Sam left Cas with the girls and took Dean until the other room and explained to him what had happened.  
"They found a room of dead angels," Dean recapped, "And started combing for survivors? You sure they weren't trying to help?"  
"You didn't hear the way they were talking Dean," Sam replied, "Whatever they were planning to do with Hannah, it wasn't good."  
"Neither was whatever happed before they showed up," Dean commented, "So we talk to the angel-girl first then psychic-girl?"  
Sam walked down the hall go get them. "Hey, Hannah, would you mind coming with me a second?"  
"Alright," Hannah agreed, walking off with him.  
"Sam!" Cas called out, struggling to keep hold of Tulip.  
"Yeah?" Sam asked  
"What about her?" Cas asked, gesturing to the girl in his arms with his chin.  
"We just need to question her about her friends, then we'll cut her lose." Sam promised.  
Apparently that did not reassure Tulip as she kept struggling. "What am I suppose to do until then?!" Cas called after her.  
Sam walked Hannah over a chair in the main room. "Now, we know you've been through a lot today," He began, "But would mind telling us what happen to the others?"  
Tears welled up in eyes.   
"It's okay," He told her, "Take your time."  
"Did you-"Hannah began finally, "Did you hear that noise?"  
"Yeah," Sam confirmed, "Cas, too. Do you-do you know what it was?"  
Hannah shook her head. "It, uh, it sounded familiar." She told them, "It sounded like Heaven. It's so strange down here."  
Sam handed her a tissue. Hannah looked at it like she didn't know what to do with it.  
"It'll absorb the tears." Sam explained, "Just dab it on the area."  
She did as he instructed as she continued. "I, uh, followed the tone and found so many of my brothers and sisters had as well. It felt safe down there, and then the doors slammed shut and a strange angel arrived. He said he worked for the new God."  
Sam and Dean exchanged looks. "Let me guess," Dean said, "He was talking about Metatron."  
"Hm-hmm." Hannah confirmed, "He made us an offer...join Metatron, fight for him, and those that did would one day be allowed to return to Heaven."  
"Return to Heaven?" Sam asked.  
"I didn't believe him, either," Hannah said, misinterupting the question, "But he said he would take us home. Some angels joined him. My friends and I refused, and, uh..." She broke down into tears again.  
"I'm sorry for your loss." Sam said, sincerely.  
While Hannah cried herself out, Sam and Dean conferred off to the side. "Okay, so he's a got a new door made." Dean said, "Well, we knew that was eventually going to happen."  
"And he's killing off all the angels that won't join him?" Sam responded.  
"You do remember all angels aren't like you, right?" Dean reminded him.  
"Yes, Dean, I'm aware of that," Sam replied tersely, "There's just one more thing that's bothering me." He walked back over to female and crouched down. "Hannah, can I ask you one more thing?"  
Hannah nodded.  
"You said the angel was strange," Sam continued, "What does that mean?"  
"Just that none of knew who he was," Hannah answered, "And he never said his name."  
So now's he's got a mysterious enforcer, Sam thought, Great. That's just great. But he had other problems to deal with at the moment. "Hannah, do you have anywhere you can go tonight?"  
After some further discussion he led Hannah back down the hallway and Tulip limp in Cas' arms.  
"What did you do?!" Sam demanded, running over to them.  
"I had no choice Sam," Cas replied, "She bit me and I was forced to render her unconscious."  
"How, are we suppose to-"Sam began, "Wait, she what?"  
"She bit me." Cas repeated, holding up his hand revealing deep teeth marks.  
Sam just stared for a moment. "Sorry about that," He said at last, "Look, would you mind taking Hannah to the others while I and Dean get Tulip awake? You just have to walk her up there. And I need you tell the others that Heaven might not be safe. No one goes in. I'll explain later, I promise."  
"Sure." Cas said, handing the girl to Sam, "Follow me."  
The first thing Tulip was aware of was someone shaking her, and someone saying, "Tulip, you gotta wake up now." She must have fallen asleep in the car again. Her eyes slowly opened and she saw two men staring up at her in a grand room. Suddenly everything that happened came flooding back to her.  
She jolted upright, and tried to jump off the chair, only to be pinned down by the tall angel who had taken her. "Look, we don't want to hurt you," He tried, "We just want to talk."  
"Ah, Sam, maybe I should take this one," His human companion spoke up, "She might respond better to me."  
The angel, Sam apparently, turned to look at him.  
"Well, you did threaten to break her neck." The human pointed out.  
Sam gave him an annoyed look, but conceded, walking away mumbling that he was only bluffing.   
The human, pulled and sat across from. "Hey," He began, "I'm Dean, and this is my brother, Sam-"  
"No, he's not," Tulip cut him off.  
"He's not what?" Dean asked in spite of himself.  
"He's not your brother," Tulip elaborated, "He's an angel and you're a human. You're literally two different species. You can't be brothers."  
"Well, I guess that's your physic thing," Dean speculated, "Being able to tell what creatures are?"  
Tulip went completely stiff.  
"Look, we're not gonna do anything to you just for being physic," Dean assured her, "We just want to know why you and your friends were looking for survivors, and then you can go."  
Tulip just stared back at him.  
"Really, that's all you have to do." Dean insisted.  
Tulip looked down and started a staring contest with her feet, shifting uncomfortably in her chair.  
"Look, if you're afraid of them, we can protect you." Dean offered, wondering if the girl might be being exploited by the motley crew for abilities.  
"The only who needs to be afraid them is you," Tulip seethed, gazing at Dean definitely, "When they find me they'll pin your angels to the wall like insects and make you watch with your eyelids taped opened, then feed you your own entrails!"  
"Okay," Dean responded, "That was-detailed."  
"Is that what Kit was gonna do with Jennifer's guards?" Sam spoke up.  
Tulip bolted up in seat, "How do you know about that?"  
"I can turn myself invisible remember?" Sam reminded her, "Apparently her guards said some things to you and Kit was going to kill them for it."  
"Wow," Dean baked, "What exactly did they say?"  
"I don't know," Sam admitted, "She never got say it."  
"They said that they should be selling me, too," Tulip admitted, "Or kill me, since I'm just a physic sult."  
Both men were silent for minute, shocked by the harsh words directed at a child.  
"Now I kinda want to kill them." Dean commented.  
"Look, how 'bout a compromise?" Sam suggested, "Why don't you just tell us who Jennifer is?" He knew they were planning on taking Hannah to this Jennifer woman, so she was the key to whatever was going on anyway.  
"Or you could let me go and we'd let you keep the angels." Tulip countered.  
Dean and Sam went off to the side. "Okay, this clearly isn't working," Dean said, "Can't you just-read her mind or something?"  
"I haven't had much practice at that, but I guess it's worth a shot." Sam said, and then looked over to the girl. After a moment she said, "Okay, all I'm getting is her trying to come up with an escape plan."  
"Look, I know that she's just a kid, and possibly a victim, but maybe it's time to pull out the more-intense methods." Dean suggested.  
"Dude, she's not a demon or a monster or even a killer." Sam protested, "She's just a kid whose level of involvement we don't even know."   
"Well, we don't have to actually use any of it." Dean said, "Let's just show a couple of them to her and ah-scare it out of her."  
"She is already plenty scared," Sam argued, "If that would've worked she'd be spilling her guts right now."  
While they were arguing them didn't notice Tulip shielding off the chair, towards the stairs. She stared at it, trying to figuring out the quietest way to get up and then just decide to run for it.   
Hearing her, they ran after her. She was just about to put her hand on the doorknob when she felt herself being lifted up in the air. "No!" She screamed, trashing against her captor again, "No, no! Let me go!" Then she left a finger on her temple, and before she knew what was happening she blacked out.  
"Well, that's just great." Dean snarked, "Now we're right back where we started."  
"Look, let's just -sash her somewhere until we can think of another strategy." Sam suggested.  
When Tulip woke up this time she was surprised to find herself lying on top of a bed, in a plain room. She looked around for her captors and found she was alone with a shut door. She stood up and ran over to it, but found it was lock. "Hey!" She shouted, banging on the door, "Hey, open up! Let me out of here!" She kept screaming, and screaming until her voice was gone, but no one responded. Eventually, she just fell to the ground, in tears.  
A few minutes after she cried herself out, she heard footsteps down the hallway. She raised her head, wondering who it was and what was going to happen? Was it Dean? One of the angels? Were they finally going to kill her? Or worst, torture her for the information they wanted?   
Tulip crawled backwards on the floor as the door open, only to find it cracked open just enough for a hand to reached through, holding an unopened bottle of water. "After all that screaming, I thought you might be thirsty." A strange female voice said.  
Tulip just stared at it, wondering what this person's angle was, and who was she to this group. Then she got an idea. She reached for the water and grabbed the woman's wrist, trying to pull her inside. But the woman fought back, pulling away and getting free of Tulip's grip, though not without getting starched.  
The door opened and an older with cropped black hair brush in, quickly blocking the exit. "Now, see here, young lady," She began, in a tone similar to the one Kit used when Tulip really messed up, "I get that we're not your favorite people in the world, but when someone tries to help you, you should at least appreciate it not to attack them, at least when they're not trying to do you any harm. Would you do any of your angels -snatching friends like that?!"  
Tulip had a comeback ready about how they never locked her up, but for some reason could not bring herself to use it, instead then just shaking her head.  
"That's what I thought," The woman continued, "It's not my fault you're in this situation, you know!"  
"I know." Tulip admitted quietly, "I'm sorry." Then she positioned herself until a kneeling position and reached for the hand she had scratched.  
Tulip closed her eyes and focused, and soon, she felt stinging on the hands. When she opened them, the scratches were gone from the woman's hand and onto her.   
"How did you-" The woman began, "Is that your-physic ability?"  
Tulip figured that it wouldn't help her captors in simply confirming that, she nodded.  
"I'm kind of new to this world, but I've never heard of that one before." The woman commented.  
"Frank says I'm one in a million," Tulip replied bashfully.  
The woman sat down next to her. "Tell me about them," She requested, "You don't have to tell me about what you're doing to the angels, but if you just want to talk about-you know, them and your life, you can."  
Two later, Dean and Sam was in the kitchen still arguing about what to do with their "guest" when footsteps came from down the hall. A few seconds later, Linda appeared in the doorway, looking like she had something to say, so they both turned to look at her.  
"Jennifer's a woman who runs an operation selling monsters as exotic pets." She began bluntly, "Tulip's 'family' sometimes sell the creatures they manage to capture alive. Oh, and Tulip's named for a graphic novel character."


	44. Luck of the Draw

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After discover and operation buying and selling monsters, an operation is launched.

"Excuse me?" Dean said.  
"Tulip O'Hare," Linda elaborated, "From some graphic novel series called Preacher. Apparently, Sean's a fan."  
"No, not that," Dean said, "How did you learn all that?"  
"I know you wanted everyone to let you handle the situation with the girl," Linda began, "But she was screaming her lungs out for thirty minutes. I wanted to make sure she was okay, so I brought her some water. Then she tried to attack me-"  
"She what?!" Sam exclaimed.  
"Don't worry, it wasn't much of one, I very easily fended her off," Linda assured, "Anyway, I read her the riot act, and she felt so bad afterwards she fixed where she starched me."  
"Fixed it?" Dean asked.  
"Apparently she has an extremely rare physic ability that involves healing others by taking on their wounds." Linda replied, "Now are you going to let me finish or not?"  
After Linda finished her story. She explained that apparently a few years ago during her "family's" travels, they had met a woman named Jennifer Mullins, who ran an operation that sold supernatural creatures to poeople with way too much money, pulse the odd witch or even scientist. If they managed to spare a monster on a hunt, they would send it her way for an inoradinate amount of money. Apparently, she had a similar arrangement with numerous hunters across the country. When she was finished, they went to the room they had stashed Tulip in. When they opened the door, she stood up from where she had been sitting on the bed.  
"It's alright; we come in peace," Sam said, his arms out in front of him, "And look who we brought with us."  
Linda stepped through the doorway.  
"You told, didn't you?" Tulip accused her feeling of betrayal clear in her voice.  
"It was a monster trafficking ring," Linda responded, "How could I keep that to myself?"  
"But a deal's a deal," Sam said, "If you want, I can take you back to the others, or at least where you left them."  
"That is, if you actually wanna go back." Dean cut in, "It just sounds like they're exploiting you to me. You be killed when they have you heal them."  
"They wouldn't let me heal them if it was that bad." Tulip said, "Even if I wanted to. And I would."  
"Okay," Sam relented, "If you're sure-"  
"I'm sure." Tulip said, taking his arm.  
Sam teleported them to a spot near the building where they had found the angels, then put a hand to her forehead and catching her before she hit the ground. "I'm sorry, Tulip," He said, "But it has to be this way."  
Tulip woke up on a bench with no idea how she got there, or where anyone was. Frantic and confused, her head went every which way until she spotted a cell phone by her with a note reading, "Call home." She dialed a number into it and waited for answer. "Yeah," Sean said, sounding stressed.  
"S-Sean..."Tulip began, her voice shaking.  
"Tulip!" He exclaimed, "Where are you? Did that bastard hurt you?"  
"I-I don't know," Tulip stammered, "I don't remember what happened after we took off to that building, I told you about."  
"Damn bastard wiped your memory." Sean groaned, "Look, just tell describe where you are and we'll find you."  
Sam watched, invisible, until the hunters found the girl. Once he was satisfied Tulip was relatively safe, he teleported back to the bunker.  
He had a lot to deal with.  
"You want to what?!" Dean exclaimed upon hearing his brother's plan.  
"Go undercover in Jennifer's organization." Sam repeated.  
"Okay, ah, why?" Dean asked.  
"You know we can't let that go on." Sam replied, "Either her buyers are using these monsters for something dangerous, or they have no clue what they're getting into and are creating a danger to themselves and others, plus, how many are like Hannah and haven't hurt anyone?"  
"Who would've thought becoming an angel would turn you soft?" Dean grumbled, "We don't know for sure she's an innocent, we've only just met her. For all we know she could've been one of the angels that took out Sodom and Gomorrah, or would've killed Baum, but left the donkey alone."  
"Then at least she's an animal lover!" Sam retorted, "Look that last one might not be a major concern, but my other two points still stand."  
"Well, we have to find her first." Dean replied, "Tulip didn't exactly give us her exact location."  
"She gave us part of a location." Sam argued, "Upstate New York. And I put a tracker on her before I left her on that bench. Next time they bring something to her, we'll know."  
"And if they find the tracker before then?" Dean questioned.  
"We'll cross that bridge if we come to it." Sam reasoned.  
"Okay, then, why you?" Dean demanded, "Why do you have to be the one to put yourself as risk, especially when there are thousands of angels who can do the job?!"  
"Because I can't ask them to do something like this!" Sam argued, "Not if I wouldn't do it myself."  
"You don't owe them anything." Dean seethed.  
"Yeah, Dean, I do," Sam replied, "That comes with the territory of leading them which was your idea by the way."  
"I never said to-" Dean began before Linda walked between the two of them, her hands raised to silence them.  
"Okay boys," She said, "Here's what we're gonna do."  
They gathered the core angels plus their new comer in a small circle in the bunker, Linda stood in front of them with two handfuls of cut straws.   
"I don't know what you've all heard," Sam began, "But we recently learned of an underground creature trafficking ring. We want to send in two angels undercover as potential merchandise with Dean going undercover as hunter looking to sell. We decided there was only one fair way to decide who should go. By random drawing. I'm not gonna lie, there are about a million ways this could go sideways so if anyone wants to back out, they can do it now. No one will think any less of you."  
No one said a word.  
Dean had to admit, it was pretty smart idea. Everyone got an even chance and it prevented Dean from protesting if Sam or Cas was chosen, as Hagar had baby at home and Kevin's relationship with Hael was the worst-kept secret in the bunker (at least among the humans. Most of the angels going in and out has not observed the pair enough nor had the intuition to pick up on what was going on.) His love ones weren't the only ones at risk.  
Linda handed a straw to the angel at the end of the line and everyone looked around to see who had the short straws.  
It was Castiel and Hael.


	45. Little Shop of Horrors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean hands Cas and Hael over, and the plan goes off the rails almost immediately.

When Kevin returned to his room, he found a certain dark-haired angel waiting, her back to him. "Hael?" He questioned.  
Hael turned at the mention of her name. "They found the location." She told her boyfriend solemnly.  
"I know," Kevin replied, walking towards her.  
They met in the middle. "Remember what you told me the night we confessed out feelings for each other?" Hael asked.  
"You'll have to be more specific." Kevin replied, "We said a lot to each other that night."  
"That if anything happened to you, you'd want me to find a full, happy life." Hael reminded him, "That's what I want for you, too. If something goes wrong on this mission-"  
"No." Kevin cut her off, "I know what you're about to say and don't. Nothing is going to happen to you. You are not dying, or getting locked up in some rich nut job's private zoo. We won't let it happen, okay?"  
"Okay." Hael said, before leaning in for one last kiss before she reported to the others. When their lips parted, she whispered, "Goodbye, my love."  
"What did I just say?" Kevin responded, "This isn't goodbye. It's just see you later."  
When they walked into the main room, the Winchesters and Castiel were waiting for her. "You ready?" Dean asked.  
"As much I can ever be." Hael said, walking over to Sam and taking his arm.  
After teleporting to a motel, the meeting place to make preparations. These were mainly putting warded cuffs on the angels; gagging them and making it appear like they were actually prisoners in general.   
"This is going to be a little tight." Dean warned her as he helped her in the trunk.  
While she knew that the boys wouldn't actually hurt them Hael felt a tremor of fear as the hood went down on the warded trunk engulfing her and Cas in darkness. She felt a hand wrap around hers and give it a reassuring squeeze, as if to tell her, I'm here, you're not alone, and it's all gonna be alright.  
Five minutes later Dean drove up to the front of what looked like an old studio of some short. He walked up to the front door, knocked twice, then paused, then knock again.  
Suddenly a metal slide on the door slid back, and a gruff voice asked, "Who is it?"  
"Dean Winchester." He answered, hoping to rely on their reputation to get him in, "I, ah, heard there was a woman here who would be interested in what I got in my trunk."  
"And how do you know about this?" The man on the other side of the door demanded.  
"I heard about from some other hunters who do business with her regularly." Dean replied, "There was about four of them and they had this kid physic tagging along with them, I think her name was Tulip?"  
"Sounds familiar," The man on the other side admitted, "Wait here."  
Dean waited by the door, alone with his thoughts. He was still very anxious in regards to this plan. There was so much that could go wrong. What if they discovered the trackers on them? What if they couldn't get in or they couldn't break out? Or both? Horrible imagines crossed his mind of the angels languishing in cold metal cages, or worst, strapped to operating tables, being vivisected. He was seconds away from going back to the car and calling the whole thing off, when the door opened revealing a large, burly guard standing next to glamorous looking woman in a black dress.  
"Mr. Winchester." She began, smiling, "Let's see what you got, then we can talk."  
Jennifer summoned two guards to gather Hael and Cas from the back of the tuck, who did a good show of trying to protest and struggle.  
"Angels?" Jennifer guessed, looking at the warding.  
Dean nodded. "Found them after a couple humans got caught in the middle of one of their battles."  
"What did they do, possess a pair of siblings?" Jennifer asked, noticing that they both had black hair, blue eyes, and pale skin.  
"Anyone related to you?" Dean asked, as she too had those features her dark hair cut in a short neat bob.  
"Very funny," Jennifer said, looking at the angels with an appraising eye that made them both uncomfortable. She then turned back to her men, and ordered, "Take them for examination."  
"Examination?" Dean asked, trying to hide his alarm, "What does that mean?"  
"Just making sure they're in good shape." Jennifer replied, "Things like that can affect the price I can get, and the price I give you. Speaking of which, would you mind stepping into my office a few minutes."  
If Jenifer's office was any indication, she liked showing off her wealth, but in a tasteful way. On the floor was a red oriental rug with gold fringe, red velvet drapes over the window, a Louis XIV chair in the corner, and in the center of the room, a mahogany secretary. She walked over to it, as Dean sat down in the chair, as she poured brown liquid from a cut-crystal decanter. "Would you like a drink?" She offered.  
"Well, since you already poured it." Dean replied, accepting it.  
Jenifer turned around and poured herself a glass.  
"So, all this comes for selling monsters?" Dean asked, looking around.  
"When the buyers are bored people with more money than God." Jennifer replied, before taking a sip of her drink, "So, tell me how do you know Frank Johnson and his motley crew?"  
"Who?" Dean replied, pausing for a moment.  
"You mentioned a physic named Tulip." Jennifer replied, "The only physic named Tulip I know runs with Frank's bunch. The only Tulip I know in general, actually."  
"Oh, that Frank Johnson." Dean said, trying to recover, "I ran into them on a hunt a few months and noticed they were oddly flushed with cash. I asked why and they told me about you."  
"Months?" Jennifer repeated, "What took you so long to contact me?"  
"Frank didn't give me an exact location." Dean lied, fearing he might have been discovered, "It took me a bit to find you. Then I didn't have anything to sell into now."  
"Oh," Jennifer said, taking a sip of her drink, "I see."  
Seeing that she seemed to believe him, Dean, feeling a bit emboldened, said, "You know, I gotta ask, why put an operation like this together? I mean, most people discover the supernatural don’t think, gee, I could sell these things for a butt load of money."  
Jennifer smiled. "That's a question I don't get a lot, believe it or not."  
"I'm just a curious kind of guy," Dean replied, "So?"  
Just then there was knock on the door.  
"That'll be the reports on your angels." Jennifer said, getting up and going to the door. She opened it and stepped out.  
Seizing the opportunity, Dean stood up and hurried over to the desk. He started pulling open desk, looking for anything that could help them. In the bottom desk, he found a large black binder. He reached down to take it out when the door started to open. He slammed it shut and ran back to the chair, sitting down just before she entered. As he walked in, he stood up. "So?"  
"I'll give a thousand for the female." Jennifer offered, "But there are some issues with the male."  
"Issues?" Dean said, feeling a flicker of panic, "What issues?" Was something wrong with Cas that the angel kept to himself?  
"There's some issue with his grace." Jennifer explained, "Basically, it's the angel equivalent of the soul, if you didn't already know. They're not sure exactly what's going on, but apparently it's almost like it's...fading."  
"Fading?" Dean responded, all sorts of alarm bells going off in his head, "What does that mean?"  
"We honestly don't know." Jennifer admitted, "Look, I don't think you were trying to cheat me, but I also have no clue if I can sell him. I'll give three hundred."  
"That seems a like a lot for something you can't even sell." Dean reasoned, "Why don't I just take that one back and -" He made a gun with his fingers and silently fired, "Take care of it."  
"At the very least I think I could have some fun with him." Jennifer smiled slyly, "So, do we have a deal?"  
Suddenly Dean couldn't respond. It felt like his mouth was sown shut and he could feel the ocean in his ears. It was too late to back out now, at least not and get his friends back to safety, but he couldn't just leave them there, especially with what Jennifer just told him about Cas.  
"Mr. Winchester?" Jennifer asked, "Are you alright?"  
"Yeah," Dean said, finding his voice again, "Yeah, I'm fine. And yeah, yeah, we have a deal."  
Jennifer reached out and they shook hands.  
Castiel was staring at the camera in the examination room. It wasn't bad enough that they had been stripped, poked, prodded and had samples taken, but they had to record the whole thing, being watched by unseen forces?  
His eyes then glanced over to Hael, who was sitting on the edge of the cold metal slab, shaking and dishliveled. If it had been bad for him, it had been much worse for her. In addition to humiliation of the examination, one of the guards had started making lewd comments. Thankfully the doctors had been disgusted enough to make them all go outside.  
Still, Cas had never wanted to kill a human being more in his life, than he wanted to kill that man.  
"Are you alright?" He asked her in a voice that was barely a whisper.  
"Yeah." She lied, but there was a tear rolling down her cheek.  
Cas reached out and put a hand on top of hers. "It'll be alright." He tried, though right now he had having trouble believing it himself, "We'll get out, or the others will come for us, or both. And I'll protect you until then."  
Before she could refute him, the door opened and the guard’s step in, one of them grabbing the chains that held them. "Come on." He ordered.  
The two angels stood up, and allowed themselves to be led from the room.  
They lead them down the seemingly endless cold, barren hallway, then turned into another, then another and still another. It seemed as if the maze would never end. Then they came to a heavy metal door at the end of the hallway. The guard not holding the chains removed his glove and put his hand on the scanner. The door swung about, revealing a dimly lit room, the walls lined with cages.  
As they walked down the hall, a vampire lunged in his cage, which cracked with electricity, causing the creature sluck back into the darkness of his prison. As they walked back the various cages, other creatures snarled and scratched at them. Others cowered. A couple were even curled up in the corner of their cells, crying.  
At last the stopped in front of an empty cage, covered in echionian. The guard who had opened the door unlocked it, and they found themselves being tossed inside. The guard who had been leaving them removed the cuffs, but the cell was shut so fast they didn't even have time to think of running for it.  
Not that they could do that much in way of escape. They could feel it the moment they entered the cage. There was over a dozen different types of warding, keeping them from flying even if they had working wings, zapping them of them strength, forcing their grace to shrink.  
"There's no way out." Hael gasped.  
"It's all up Sam and-"Cas began, before falling to the floor.


	46. From Bad To Worse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jennifer reveals her plans for Castiel; the take down doesn't go according to plan, leaving Hael in a dangerous situation.

"Cas!" Hael screamed, kneeling down at his side and shaking, "Cas, what happened?! What's wrong!" She looked around and called out, "Help! I need some help in here!"  
"You're wasting, your breath, sweet heart," A voice called out from one of the cages, "It's gotta be a real emergency for them come in here!"  
"They're about to lose some of their livestock!" Hael shouted, "I'd think that was something they'd consider a problem!" Turning her friend over, she pleaded, "Stay with me, Cas, please stay with me."  
The doors opened and two guards walked down the hall to the angel cage. Their eyes widened when they saw the pair on the floor. "What the Hell?" One guard even exclaimed.  
"Must be from different tribes or whatever." The other guard groaned, unlocking the cage. He lunged at Hael with a black and silver stick, causing the angel to jump back in pain as she felt a blot of electricity charge through her.  
One of them picked her up forced her to her feet, demanding, "What the Hell did you do to him?!"  
"Nothing." Hael seethed, "He collapsed after you put us in. Please, you have to help him."  
The other guard got Cas under his arms and began to drag him out of the cage. "Ah, this one heavier than he looks." He groaned, "A little help in here!"  
The door opened again and a third guard, a woman, ran into the room, picking up Cas' legs and carried him out of the cage. The other guard let go of Hael, throwing her back into the cage and quickly stepped out, locking the door. She could only watch as they carried her friend out of the door and shut the door with that slow, horrifying clang.   
The moment Castiel was taken from the room; he slowly started to regain consciousness. His head was pounding and his eyes felt like rocks, but he was aware of the fact that he was moving, or rather, being moved. His eyes slowly opened, and he could see a man and a woman carrying him.  
"What the-" He began, "What's going on? Where's Hael?"  
"Back in the kennels." The woman answered, "You had some sort of accident."  
There was the sound of the door opening, and Cas could see the white ceiling of the examination room again.  
"Didn't I already look at this one?" A voice he recognized as one of the doctors, Dr. Beckett, asked.  
"Something happened after we put in the cages." The male guard explained as he was set back on the examining table, "He just-collapsed."  
Feeling his strength returning, Castiel sat up and saw Dr. Beckett, an older man with what Cas believed was called salt and pepper hair, was looking at chart. "If I remember right, this was the one with grace issue." He commented, his eyes never leaving the chart.  
"You go through so many angels that doesn't stand out to you?" Cas challenged.  
Dr. Beckett turned to look at him, then back in the chart. "Well, I've seen so many angels lately." He explained, "Use to be we'd only get one, maybe two a year if we were lucky, but lately...they call tend to blend together after a while."  
Cas heart sunk. He knew the most likely reason for the sudden increase in angels.  
“We really owe whoever the caused the fall.” Dr. Beckett commented, not looking up from the chart.  
Suddenly Castiel felt sick. Surely, deeply sick, like he was going to throw up.   
“Hey, guys,” The female angel spoke up, “I think he’s gonna-“  
Suddenly a thick burning liquid forced his way up Cas’ throat, forcing him to open his mouth and deposit it on the floor.  
“I’ll get a mop.” A male guard groaned, walking out of the room.  
Dr. Beckett looked at the mess on the floor, then to the remaining guards, then finally to Cas. “Well,” The doctor said, “I suppose it wouldn’t to look him over again.”  
By the time the male guard arrived back with a custodian, Dr. Beckett had finished his examination.   
“He’s fine now,” He was saying, “But I would recommend finding some alternate holding arrangements, less harsh wardings.  
“That won’t be necessary.” The other male guard said, walking up to Cas with a set of warding chains.  
After securing him, the guards led Cas down the hall. They made a turn and the angel realized something important. “This isn’t the way back to the cells.”  
One of the male guards scoffed. “We gotta a real genius on our hand with this one.”  
“Boss wanted us to take you to her office.” The other male guard said, “That’s why were there in the first place.”  
“Why?” Cas demanded.  
“How the Hell should I know?” The guard snapped back.  
They came to the hand of the hall where the female knocked on the door. “Ms. Mullins,” She called out, “We have him for you.”  
“Come in.” Jennifer called out casually.  
The three walked in, Cas trailing behind them.  
“It takes three of you to bring me one weakened angel?” Jennifer question.  
“There was in incident, ma’am.” The female guard continued to explained, “He collapsed in the cage. He appears to be fine now, though.”  
“Good.” Jennifer replied, “Sit him there.” As she spoke she gestured to fancy chair in the middle of the room.  
The guards did as they were told, then left the room, shutting the door behind them.  
Cas, looked up as his captor, trying to hide his fear. “Why did you bring me here?” He demeaned.  
“I’ll get to that.” Jennifer replied, “But I thought we could start with something simple, like names. Mine’s Jennifer.”  
The angel briefly considered lying, but in the end said, “Castiel.”  
Jennifer’s eyes widened in intrigued surprised. “Well, well, well,” She said, “Looks like I have a celebrity in my office.”  
Suddenly he regretted telling the truth. “You know who I am?”  
“I’ve heard whispers.” Jennifer replied, beginning to saunter towards him, “From the angels who had pasted through here.”  
“The angels you’ve sold to highest bidder?” Cas summarized bitterly.  
“Yes.” Jennifer confirmed, “Though I’m making an exception for you.”  
“Why?” Cas asked, then repeated his first question, “Why did you have them bring me here?”  
“Because,” Jennifer began, now leaning over Cas, “While with your grace the way it is you’re in no condition to sell, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other things I can do with you.” She leaned her lips towards him.  
“No!” Cas protested, pushing back as far as he could in the chair, trying to fight her off. Suddenly he felt a sharp sting across the cheek.  
“You ungrateful little wretch!” Jennifer shouted, “Do you even know what I’m offering you here?! I don’t know if you noticed, but it’s a dangerous place out there especially for you!”  
“And this is the better option?” Cas retorted.  
“Do not interrupt me when I am talking!” Jennifer shouted, slapping the angel again, “Don’t think that because I like you I will tolerate disrespect because next time I will not be so lenient.” And then she turned around, and walked from the room, locking the door behind her, leaving her captive to await whatever happened next.   
Meanwhile, Sam and Dean were a block away, in the Impala, watching to enact their rescue plan.  
“Are the trackers working?” Dean asked, peering over the computer.  
“Yeah.” Sam said pointing at two dots on the screen, “It’s looks like they’re being moved.”  
“Move?” Dean asked, panic going through him, “Moved where?”  
“Hopefully where the other monsters are being kept.” Sam replied calmly.  
I can’t believe I let them talk me into this. Dean thought. Out loud he said, “Sam, when this Jennifer chick was talking to me about- “The next words left a foul taste in his mouth, “payment, she told me her doctors found something wrong with Cas.”  
“What do you mean?” Sam asked.  
“Something about his Grace.” Dean answered, “They’re not sure what? She said she might not be sellable. What if they decide to kill him?”  
“We won’t let that happen.” Sam assured him, “We’ll get them both out before that can happen. As long as that tracker’s going, we can find them.”  
But what will we find? Dean thought.  
Just then one of the dots started to moving again. I might have spoken to soon. Sam thought.   
“What?” Dean spoke up, seeing Sam’s face fall, “What’s wrong? What’s happening?”  
“Okay, don’t panic.” Sam cautioned, “But it looks like some of them is being moved.”  
“What do you mean moved?” Dean demanded, the whole top half of his body leaning over the computer, almost pushing Sam to the side, “Which one?”  
“I don’t know!” Sam admitted, “We didn’t label them!”  
“Well, that was mistake!” Dean exclaimed, in full panic mode now. Was their friend being led to his death as they watched helplessly? Or worst, to a life in bondage?  
Suddenly the dot froze again. “We need to go in.” Dean ordered, “Now.”  
“Dean, we’d basically be flying blind- “Sam began.  
“Something is happening and it’s happening now.” Dean cut him off, “If we’re going to get them out, we need to do it now.”  
“Alright.” Sam relented, grabbing Dean’s wrist and taking off.  
As the Winchesters were planning their attack Cas was alone in Jennifer’s office struggling to get out of his chains before she returned, or someone else entered.   
Brute strength not working, Cas forced himself from the chair and threw himself against the desk, looking for something he could use to pick the lock. Capping his hand around the marble handle of a letter opener, he put the tip in the keyhole, feeling a prick on his skin.  
He worked at picking the lock, to no avail. Hearing the door open, he froze, letting the letter opener fall to the desk. Suddenly he couldn’t move, even to turn around and see who had entered the room.  
“It’s alright.” Jennifer’s voice said behind him, “It’s just me.”  
That’s not very reassuring. Cas thought, turning around.   
He saw Jennifer standing there holding a white box with roses painted on its broad sides. He felt a flicker of fear at the thought of what might be in the box, when her face contorted into a confusing remorseful look. “I’m so sorry I did that you.” Jennifer said, then gestured to the chair, “Come here.”  
Seeing no other option, Cas walked over as best he could in his state, practically falling into the chair. Jennifer walked over and knelt down, putting the box on the floor, before giving an appraising eye to the chains. “If I take these off of you, will you try to run?”  
“Like I would make it out.” Cas retorted.  
Jennifer responded by pulling out a key, and inserting it into the lock of the right shackle. She repeated the process and the chains fell to the floor. She pushed them aside and opened the box, revealing serval smaller boxes of women’s make-up.  
What is happening here? Cas wondered to himself.  
Jennifer pulled out a jar of creamy-colored liquid and white sponge. She poured some out into the sponge and reached towards Castile, who pulled back. “It’s okay.” She said in a hushed voice, “I’m not going to hurt you again. I’m just gonna clean you up a bit.”  
Cas went slack, allowing her to apply the substance, to his check, swirling the sponge around before coming back for a little more.  
“I use to have to do this all the time.” Jennifer said, as she continued her work, “Back when I was married.”  
“You’re wearing make-up right now.” Cas pointed out, misunderstanding what she meant.  
A flash of rage crossed Jennifer’s face, but this time she quickly got control of herself this time. “I meant covering up bruises.”  
Suddenly it came together for the angel. “Your husband was abusive?”  
Jennifer nodded. “Good ol’ Eddy Drummond. Heir to an oil fortune. Meet him in a bar when I was twenty. Wooed me, got the ring of my finger, then revealed his massive drinking problem. And he was very angry drunk.”  
“But you left him.” Cas whispered.  
“I never said that.” Jennifer replied.  
“But you used the words ‘was married’ as in past-tensed.” Cas argued.  
“That doesn’t necessarily mean divorce.” Jennifer said, smiling slyly, “It could also mean death.”  
Just when Cas thought he couldn’t be any more shocked, confused or terrified, he found himself surprised. “Why are you telling me all this?”  
“Because maybe if we got to know each other you might fill a bit more comfortable with the situation.” Jennifer explained, “And it’s not like you’re ever going to be in a position to tell anyone.” She then pulled the sponge back from his face, “There you, go, much better.” She pulled a compact out and handed it to him. “See?”  
Cas opened the compact, trying to stay on her good side for a moment. He hadn’t seen his face after the attack, but he assumed there must have been some sort of welt on it. A welt that was now hidden. “Thank you.” He said softly, playing along for now.  
Jennifer then reclaimed the compact and started to pack up the cosmetics. “You know, Castiel,” She began, “This can be a completely symbiotic relationship. “She stood up, walking towards the desk, “You spend the remainder of your life in relative comfort,” She sat the case on the desk, “And I get some pleasure. Everybody wins.”  
“What about Hael?” Cas countered.  
“Who?” Jennifer asked, turning around to face him.  
“My friend, who’s still in your dungeon.” Cas replied.   
“That should be easy enough.” Jennifer said, turning and walking behind her desk, “I can arrange a private sell.” She took out a box and begin to riffle through the cards in it, her finger landed on one, “A magician-scientist-magical-artifact-collector with an extensive private zoo. Except he doesn’t have an angel yet.” She pulled out the card, “So he won’t want to lose one when he gets it. She’ll be protected and want for nothing.”  
“That is acceptable.” Cas lied. Setting up this sale would probably take time. Stall until they could find a way out or Sam and Dean could save them.  
“Alright then.” Jennifer said, “I’ll have to make a few calls to get in contact with him, but she should be out of the cage by the end of the week.” Then she sauntered back over Cas leaning over him, “Now, I think I deserve some kind of thank you.”  
As she leaned closer Cas closed his eyes, trying to will himself somewhere else, anywhere but there, at least in his mind, where there was a commotion from outside. “Will you excuse me for one second?”  
She opened the door, and saw some sort of battle going on within the halls of her establishment. “What the Hell is going on?!” She demanded.  
“We’re under attack!” A guard explained, “Someone got in, let the creatures out! They’ve gone full-on Spartacus on us!”  
Jennifer grabbed someone’s extra side-arm and began to fire, making her way down the hall.  
Cas stood up and walked over to the door, putting his hand on the doorknob when he heard the sound of wings flapping, causing him to turn around.   
He had never been happier to see Sam Winchester then he was at this moment.  
“Are you alright?” Sam asked.  
“I think so.” Cas answered, “What about Heal?”  
“She’s fine, Dean’s getting her out.” Sam replied.  
Meanwhile, Dean was leading Hael through the chaos, looking for Jennifer at the same time. They hadn’t exactly decided what they were going to do with the woman when they found her, but they had to cut off the head of snake. And Jennifer was most certainly the head.”  
“I should have known you had something to do with this.” Jennifer’s voice said behind them.  
They turned around to see Jennifer, a gun in her right hand, aimed at them.  
“There you are.” Dean said, leveling his gun at her, “Look, just come quietly, and we’ll clean up your mess.”  
“Actually,” Jennifer replied, “I think you’re going to let me go.”  
Dean scoffed. “Look around, lady,” He said, “Your empire’s falling to pieces around you.”  
“But I still have leverage.” Jennifer seethed, “I still have one of your friends at my mercy.”  
“My brother’s getting him as we speak.” Dean informed her.  
Jennifer paused for a moment, her eye glancing in every direction. Then she suddenly reached out with one hand, chanting a spell Dean had never heard before. He wasn’t even sure what language it was. Suddenly Hael was flung into Jennifer’s arm, the woman grabbing the blade the angel had been given and held it to her neck. “Here’s how this is gonna work.” Jennifer said, circling Dean who had frozen in his place, “You’re going to walk out of here, or she dies.”  
Dean kept his gun trained on her, but did not try to stop her as she backed away with a struggling Hael.  
Jennifer dragged the female angel through the chaos to a back entrance where there was a series of large back vans. She opened one, revealing warding covering the inside. “Get in.” She ordered.  
“No.” Hael refused, “You can kill her right here.”  
“Who said anything about killing you?” Jennifer replied, before shoving her hostage inside and shutting the doors before the poor girl to could react. She then got into the driver’s side, and drove off, pulling out her cellphone and hitting a number on the contacts before putting it up to her ear. “Magnus, it’s Jennifer.” She said, “I have something for you.”


	47. The Collector

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Upon finding Mangus, Sam makes a sacrifice to save Hael.

Dean circled the man tied to the chair while Muriel stood off to the side. “Look,” Dean said,” I’ve been going through guard after guard and you know what? I don’t think you’re a bag guy. Sure, you work for a lady who’s absolutely nuts but I think you’re just a regular guy trying to make a living,” He pulled out the man’s wallet, revealing s picture of a woman and a little boy, “support the wife and kid.”  
“They don’t know anything about this.” The man pleaded, “My wife thinks I work at an antique auctions house. Please don’t hurt them.”  
“Relax.” Dean cut him off,” No one’s hurting them. The point is, you can’t be completely happy with what’s going on here. And that kid angel your boss took off with? She has friends, family, Hell, she’s even got a boyfriend. People who care about her, are worried about her. And you have the power to ease their suffering, you have the power to help us get her back.”  
The guard shook his head. “I don’t, I really don’t.” He said regretfully, “Look, I have no clue where Ms. Mullins would have taken your girl. All deals with Magnus were handled by her personally and her most trusted guards, which were not me. I’m sorry.”  
Dean looked at Muriel.  
“He’s telling the truth.” Muriel confirmed.  
Frustrated, Dean walked out of the room and leaned up against the wall, rubbing his face in his hands. Seeing his friend’s distress, Castiel waked over to him, “Still nothing?”  
“Less than nothing.” Dean lamented, “Apparently this guy was such a good customer that this Mullins bitch went to great length to keep his amenity. We still got nothing.”  
“So, the only hope we have is Sam’s lead panning out.” Cas responded.  
“Assuming Kevin doesn’t kill him.” Dean said.  
“It’s true, I do not envy Sam’s duty.” Cas admitted.  
Sam’s unfortunate duty was informing Kevin his girlfriend was missing. Understandably, the Prophet did not take it well, taking a swing at Sam.  
“She trusted you!” Kevin exclaimed, “She trusted you and now she’s God only knows where going through God only knows what!”  
“Kevin, I know.” Sam replied, “I know, but we are doing everything in our power to find her. I already have a lead.”  
“What?” Kevin asked urgently, “What is it?”  
“Jennifer was planning on selling Hael to someone named Magnus.” Sam explained, “Albert Magnus was the name the Men of Letters used when they wanted to be incognito.”  
Kevin turned from Sam and let out an angry scoff. “Great, that’s just great.” He seethed, before whirling around on Sam, “We know all the Men of Letters are dead, Sam!”  
“Do we? Sam countered.  
After Sam explained his theory, he and Kevin made their way to a clearing in the woods on which sat a plain, but well-built cabin. They walked up to the door and Sam knocked on it. “Crowley.” He called out, “Crowley, are you here?!”  
The door opened, revealing the ex-king of Hell with wild eyes, beard stubble, dressed in homespun clothes unevenly died with black ink. “Sam!” He beamed a bit too joyfully, “Kevin! Come in, come in!” As he ushered them inside he asked, “To what do I owe the pleasure? You just checked in a few days ago.”  
“Something’s come up and we need to ask you some questions about it.” Sam began, trying to appear confident. He wasn’t sure how good Crowley would be to them in his state, but right now it was the bet they got.  
“Certainly.” Crowley replied, going to the other side of a smooth wooden table in the center of the room, handing a plate of unappetizing lumps to his visitors, “Lemon corn mill cookies, minus the lemon?”  
“Ah, no thank you.” Sam replied, gently pushing the plate away, “What do you know about the Men of Letters massacre of 1958? We know Abaddon missed our grandfather and Larry Gahem. Was there anybody else?”  
“I’m sorry to say, no.” Crowley answered.  
Sam’s head fell and Kevin felt and looked like was going to puke.  
“I wasn’t finished.” Crowley said, “Let me finish before you get all-dejected. Rumor has it that a rouge member was tossed out on his arse. Therefore, he wouldn’t have been there that night, so if anyone’s still alive, it would be him. If whatever got him expelled didn’t kill him. Or he hasn’t died of old age. However, I don’t know how you would find him. He wouldn’t be in the active membership. I don’t know his name, but I tried to find him back in my demon days. I thought he might be my way into that bunker of yours. Unfortunately, I never did find him, so I’m afraid I can’t be of much help.”  
“Maybe you can.” Sam said, “Where did you look?”  
Meanwhile, Jennifer was standing in the hallway of a beautiful mansion, holding a drugged Hael by the arm. “Magnus!” She called out, “Magnus, where are you?”  
“Right here.” A voice called, and a man dressed in a dark suit and brightly colored bowtie came into view.  
“So, this is where you live.” Jennifer commented, “I always sort of wondered. Thanks for accommodating me, by the way.”  
“No trouble at all.” Magnus said, meeting them. He put a hand under Hael’s chin, raising her head as he continued, “Not for a specimen like this.” He sat at leather briefcase at Jennifer’s feet, “It’s all there.”  
Jennifer cracked open the case, then satisfied all the money was there, closed it. “The sedative should wear off in about 30 minutes,” She said, “It’s been a pleasure doing business with you as always.”  
“What will you do now?” Magnus asked.  
“Get out of the country for a while.” Jennifer said, “Maybe get set up somewhere else, or maybe I’ll just retire.”  
“Either way, I’d advise staying away from Brittan.” Magnus urged, “If things are anything like I remember our branch there was more than a little…extreme. And coming from yours truly that is saying something.”  
“Thanks for the tip.” Jennifer replied, looking around, “Ah, how do I get out of here?”  
Magnus collected Hael, standing her on the wall beside him. Then he took a vail of green powder, pouring it in hand before blowing it at Jennifer and saying, “Abi, ab oculkis meis!”  
Jennifer disappeared in a puff of smoke.  
Once she was gone Magnus turned back to the angel. “Now, my dear, “He said, taking her by the arm, “Let’s get you settled in.”  
Meanwhile, back at the bunker, Kevin and Sam had found a file box that could lend a clue to their mysterious collector. “Infamati et obliterati.” Kevin read.  
“Dishonored and forgotten.” Sam translated.  
Sam went and got Dean and the trio began pouring over the files to figure out exactly who they were dealing with.  
“Wow.” Dean said, impressed in spire pf the current situation, “This guy was something.” He handed a paper to Sam.  
“Tough name.” Sam commented.  
“Yeah, Cuthbert Sinclair.” Dean announced, “I’d have just gone with ‘Magnus’.”  
“Looks like he designed most of the warding that keeps the bunker safe.” Sam revealed.  
“Says he was named, ‘Master of Spells,’ right after he was initiated.” Dean recapped.  
“I guess his work got a little crazy.” Sam speculated, “The leadership called it, ‘eccentric,’ and ‘irresponsible’.”  
“K, so these are the projects he proposed the last two years he was here.” Dean said, going through the papers, “Look at this- ‘rejected,’ rejected,’ ‘rejected’.” He found more form, “‘Formal Separation from Men of Letters—April 1956’.”  
“He missed the massacre.” Sam declared.  
“And this the guy who has Hael?” He asked, his fear for the female angel evident in his voice, “And we still have no way to find her?”  
“We have a clue.” Sam said quickly, “We the place Crowley’s demons tracked him to.”  
“You mean the place where they found absolutely nothing?!” Kevin exclaimed, slamming the table.  
“Well, he was a genius at warding, right?” Sam reasoned, trying to calm the teenager down, “Sure as Hell ain’t gonna be found by a bunch of demons.”  
“Ans what makes you think you’ll be able to find him?” Kevin challenged.  
“If he’s so bent on hiding maybe he’s watching.” Dean suggested, “We tell him who we are, maybe he’ll want to talk to us?”  
“Really?” Kevin balked, “That’s your plan?”  
“Right now, it’s the best we got.” Dean replied.  
Kevin paused to get himself under control. “All right, then,” He relented, standing up, “Let’s go.”  
“Whoa, there.” Dean said, him and Sam standing up as well, “It’s just gonna be me and Sam on this one.”  
“What?!” Kevin balked, “No way!”  
“Kevin, we don’t know what we’re walking into.” Sam warred.  
“I don’t care!” Kevin shouted, “I’m not gonna sit back while my…” His voice trailed off when he realized what he almost revealed.  
“Kevin,” Sam said, “Everybody knows about you and Hael.”  
“Well, not everybody.” Dean elaborated, “Just the people who are around all the time.”  
Kevin was silent for a moment then said, “Then you know I’m not just going to leave her in the hands of some mad scientist who wants her for who knows what!”  
“I also know she wouldn’t want you to put yourself in danger.” Sam tried, “She’d want you here, she’d want you safe, waiting her to come home. And when we get her back, she’s going to need you.”  
Kevin sighed. “Alright,” He relented, “But if you don’t come back with her, alive, don’t come back at all.” The tone in Kevin’s voice let the brothers know that he meant it. He wasn’t entirely sure how he would make good on the threat, but he meant it.  
That was how Sam and Dean wound up walking through a forest of trees and into a clearing, “Okay,” Sam began, “Here goes nothing.” Then speaking into the air, he continued, “Cuthbert Sinclair—Magnus—whatever, we’re Sam and Dean Winchester, Henry Winchester’s grandsons.”  
“And Men of Letters, ourselves.” Dean added.  
“We know what happened back in the day.” Sam countered, “We don’t necessarily agree with it. We figured…Maybe you want to tell your side of the story.”  
For a moment there was nothing, then a smoky doorway suddenly began to raise from the ground. Sam and Dean exchanged looks before walking through it. They immediately found themselves in the hallway of a beautiful mansion.  
“Which way?” Sam wondered aloud.  
Dean motioned to the right and they walked down the hall. When they rounded the corner they were set upon by two men dressed from a bygone era, opening their mouth revealing themselves to be vampires.  
They fought off the vampires and beheaded both of them.  
Suddenly an intercom in the hallway was activated, and they could hear clapping and a voice. “Bravo!” The voice congratulated them, “Well done.”  
Suddenly, a figured appeared in the hall. It was a man roughly the same age as the Winchesters, with smooth dark brown hair. Like the vampires before him, he was dressed as if he was from another time.  
“Good show, gentlemen.” The man said, before his clapping ceased.  
The Winchester honestly didn’t know what to expect when they sought out this former Men of Letters turned sorcerer, and monster collector. However, they did not expect to be sitting on a rather nice leather couch while the man poured himself a drink.  
“Sorry about all the theatricality.” He was saying, “I just wanted to see what you two were made of.”  
“So, what, are we underground?” Dean asked, trying to get an understanding of the situation.  
“No.” Magnus replied, “No, my fortress is right where you were standing. But it’s invisible.”  
“Then you must be Cuthbert Sinclair.” Sam assumed.  
“Ugh.” Magnus groaned, “I haven’t gone by that moniker in, oh…57 years now.”  
“Well, you’re looking good for a guy pushing…90?” Dean responded.  
“Well, thanks, sport.” Magnus replied, “There’s a spell for damn near everything. I am impressed, though. You did exactly what you should’ve done. Though I am gonna miss those two from my zoo, though.”  
“Yeah, about your zoo.” Sam began, “You happen to have an angel in there? One you’ve required quite recently?”  
“Oh, gentlemen, you are in the mist of the greatest collections of supernatural rarities and antiquities on the planet.” Magnus replied, “Thought I admit, finding a celestial messenger proved extremely difficult. I only just acquired her this morning, a beautiful female. Unfortunate about the state of her wings, though. But apparently that’s common place nowadays.”  
So, he did have Hael.   
“I’m sorry.” Magnus continued, “Did you say you were Men of Letters? I thought the whole thing died out after ’58.”  
“Well, we are-we are legacies.” Sam explained, “But actually, uh…we’re hunters.”  
“Hunters?” Magnus repeated, “Wow! Hunters. With the keys to the kingdom. The boys must be spinning in their graves. Damn snobs. Although I was always found of Henry. I was his mentor, you know? Yeah, ‘till the squares gave me the boot. Yeah. ‘Course, he came here to visit me, in secret. Called out to me, same as you did. Oh, yes. Quite the wild hair, your grandfather was.”  
“Listen, Magnus, uh…” Dean began, “We got ourselves a little situation. That angel you, ah, just bought…we think she’s a friend of ours. We were hoping you would be open to giving her back.”  
“Mmm.” Magnus mused, “Now, that is interesting, for one thing, you’re hunters, but you’re friends with supernatural creatures.”  
“We don’t usually.” Dean replied, “But she’s an exception to the rule.”  
“How open-minded of you.” Magnus commented, “And what make you think your angel and mine are one in the same?”  
“Because she taken by a woman named Jennifer Mullins.” Sam spoke up, “Apparently you’re one of her clients.”  
“Well, I did get this one from Jennifer.” Magnus admitted, “Why don’t I go get her and we can see if she’s yours or not?”  
Both of the boys were taken aback. They didn’t think it was going to be that easy. “If you would do that, sure.” Sam said finally, “That’d be great.”  
“I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Magnus promised, standing up before walking away, “Wait here.”  
Like we have a choice, Dean thought. Then, once Magnus was gone, he turned to Sam and asked, “Dude, can you get us out of here?”  
“I don’t know.” Sam admitted.  
“What?” Dean balked, “What do you mean you don’t know?”  
“I mean this place is so warded I’m not sure that I can fly.” Sam replied, “You seriously didn’t consider that possibility?”  
“I did but I was really hoping this wouldn’t be an issue.” Dean hissed.  
“Look, if I can’t fly, we’ll figure something else out.” Sam replied.  
“Like what?” Dean challenged.  
“Maybe we have something he wants more than he wants an angel.” Sam suggested, “We have out stash of artifacts.”  
“That’s plan B?” Dean responded, “Offer a ransom?”  
“You got a better plan B?” Sam countered, “Dean, we don’t even know where the front door is.”  
Just then Magnus came back, leading Hael by the hand. She had been made to change out of the clothes she had been wearing light pink long-sleeved blouse, a long, darker pink, almost dusky red skirt and cloche and heels that matched the skirt. When saw the brothers she let go of her captor’s hand and shouted, “Sam! Dean!” running towards them. They stood up just in time for to hit Sam’s chest.  
“Are you alright?” Dean asked, “Are you hurt?”  
Hael shook her head into Sam’s chest, and he thought his shirt might be a bit wet. She was crying.  
“I assure you, Muriel has been treated very well.” Magnus said.  
Dean opened her mouth to correct, then realized Hael probably lied to him about her name. Smart kid.   
“Except for the part where I was kidnapped, drugged, bought like chattel, robbed of my liberty, and made to wear this ridiculous getup.” Hael spat reeling back from the embrace. There were tracks of tears on her face, which she quickly whipped away, unwilling to show weakness in front of her captor.  
“Only the last one was my doing.” Magnus replied, “But I believe your friends are going to try to fix that.”  
Sam grabbed the sleeves of Dean and Hael and tried to fly, but his fears were confirmed. The warding had them trapped.  
“What are you doing?” Magnus asked, raising an eyebrow.  
“Nothing.” Sam lied quickly.  
“I don’t suppose you’ll just-let us leave with her.” Dean said.  
“You would be right.” Magnus replied, “Unless you can make it worth my while I fully intend on keeping her.”  
“We can do that.” Sam offered quickly, “We have access to the Men of Letters Bunker. You can have your pick of anything from it, just as long as she comes back with us.”  
Magnus appeared to mull over the offer for a moment before saying. “Sorry, but I’ve already seen everything. If you want me to give up my only angel, you’re going to have to do better than that.”  
Sam knew what he had to do now. “How about the only angel that was ever once a human?”  
“What?!” Dean said, alarmed and seeing where this was going, “Sam, no!”  
“Sam, please.” Hael added, “Don’t do this on my account.”  
“What are you all going on about?” Magnus demanded.  
Sam stepped away from the others and unfurled his wings, casting their shadow across the room.  
Magnus just stared in awe foe a few moments. “And you’re saying you use to be human?”  
“Yeah.” Sam said, “Since the Fall-did you hear about that?”  
“Jennifer told me something about it.” He walked closer to Sam, circling him, utterly fascinated, “How did this happen?”  
“Apparently if you shut the gates of Hell, you turn into an angel.” Sam explained.  
“Fascinating.” Magnus beamed, “You are going to have to explain that to me in more detail later.”  
“Only if you let them go.” Sam insisted, intensely.  
“Of course.” Magnus replied, “A deal’s a deal.” He turned around and pinches some green powder from a bowl on the end table.  
“Sam, you can’t do this!” Hael shouted running towards him, “I won’t let you.”  
“Same here.” Dean said, “Listen to her, Sam.”  
Sam grabbed Hael on either side at the bend of her arm and sat her back next to his brother. “Dean, this is happening.” Sam said firmly, “Just, get her home for me, okay.” Then he hugged Dean and whispered in his ear, “And don’t think I actually intend on staying.”  
“And how do you expect to get out on your own?” Dean countered, also in a whisper, so Magnus couldn’t hear them.  
“If you’re all are finished with your goodbyes,” Magnus spoke up, “Come over here and I’ll let your friends out.”  
Sam did, standing next to the man and resisting the urge to punch him out for a moment. He blew the powdered at Hael and Dean began to recite the spell.


	48. The Collection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Dean spearheads a rescue mission, Sam gains an ally and starts a monster rebellion.

Magnus lead Sam down the halls. “You might have noticed a little design flaw to the place- “The collector or was saying, “No windows, no doors.”  
“So, you’re saying don’t try to escape, because you won’t get that far.” Sam replied. It was a statement, not a question, “Don’t worry, I’ll keep my end of the bargain if you kept yours.”  
“Don’t worry.” Magnus assured him, “Your brother and your friend are fine. They should be on their way home right now.”  
Meanwhile Dean and Hael were rushing through the woods, Dean pulling out his cellphone the minute he got a signal. “We got a problem.” He said, the moment his call was picked up, “Magnus has Sam.”  
Meanwhile, Sam was read to a room filled with cells and cages. They were much nicer then Jennifer’s set-up, brightly lit and clean, but, still, they were cages.  
“Welcome to your new home, Samuel.” Magnus said, leading him down the rows.  
“Cozy.” Sam snarked, looking around at the other creatures. He spotted a ghoul, a couple of shapeshifters, at least one other vampire, and a Lamia, or all things.  
“Don’t get too discouraged.” Magnus said, “I don’t think you’ll be spending that much time here.”  
“Why is that?” Sam asked, as they came to stop at one of the cages and started to open it.  
“Because you’re far to interesting,” Magnus replied, opening the cell and gesturing for Sam to come inside, “I’m going to want to get a better look at you later. And maybe I’ll just want to talk.”  
“Talk?” Sam repeated, allowing himself to be chained.  
“I have to be honest with you, it has gotten lonely over the years.” Magnus explained, “I could use a companion.” He touched a shackle and added, “I might even take these off once I’m sure I can trust you.”  
“A little creepy, but okay.” Sam pretended to agree.  
Magnus gave him small smile that Sam thought was meant to be reassuring. “I’ll get the examination room ready, then I’ll be back.” And with that, he left.  
Sorry, Magnus. Sam thought, searching his pockets for something to pick the lock, I don’t instead to be here that long. At last he found a paper clip. He undid it, and put one end in the lock of the shackle. He started to work when he got the feeling he was being watched.  
He looked at the cage across from him and saw beautiful little girl with curly brown hair, blue eyes, and rosy cheeks staring back at him.  
“Hey,” He said, getting as close as he could, causing the girl to run back into the cage, “No, it’s okay. What’s your name?”  
The girl just stared at him with wide eyes.  
“Mine’s Sam.” He offered.  
“I’m Luda Mae.” The little girl finally said.  
“That’s a pretty name.” Sam replied, gently, “Hey, Luda Mae, can you tell me what you are? What species, I mean?”  
Suddenly an adult female voice ordered, “Luda, get away from there.”  
The ran to the back of the cage to a figure Sam couldn’t make out. She turned back at him and glared with unforgiving eyes, with peapod pupils as she pulled Luda Mae close to her.  
“I’m sorry.” Sam said, “I didn’t mean any harm.”  
“Since you’re new here, I’ll cut you some slack.” The woman snapped, “But we leave each other alone.”  
“How’s that working out for you so far?” Sam questioned.  
The figure stepped forward, revealing a woman that looked at lot like Luda Mae, except with straighter hair, and dull eyes. “What is that supposed to mean?”  
“I mean, don’t you want out of here?” Sam reasoned, “You can’t want your daughter to live like this. I’m assuming Luda is your daughter.”  
The woman was silent for a moment. “I was pregnant when they brought me in. I was digging up a grave to get something to eat. I tried to run but, I was too far along, it slowed me down.”  
“So, Luda Mae was born here?” Sam concluded.  
The woman nodded.  
“And you really want this to be the only life she ever knows?” Sam challenged.  
“As opposed to what?” The woman snapped, “Digging up corpses for their brains only for a bunch hunters to want to kill you anyway? They didn’t care that I wasn’t hurting anybody, they didn’t even care that I was pregnant! Her father never killed anyone, and they killed him anyway! At least here she’s protected from that!”  
Sam paused a minute, thinking of some sort argument. “I’m sorry all that happened to you.” He said at last, “But is being controlled by someone who sees you and your daughter as nothing more than objects, really that much better? He could anything to you, either of you, at any time. Now, outside of here, I could protect you both, see that you get what you need.”  
“Why?” The woman questioned, “Why would you do that for us? What would an angel care about a couple of Kitsune?”  
“Because I wasn’t always an angel.” Sam replied, “And I still have human feelings. And I think you two have suffered enough. Now, can we please start over?”  
The woman was silence for what felt like ages, considering what the angel had said. At last she said, “My name’s Margery.”  
“Well, Margery,” He began, “My name’s Sam, and I’m gonna get us all out of here.”  
Sam went back to work, managing to pick the lock on one shackle, then the other. Finally, he started on the door lock.  
“Picking the lock?” Margery questioned, watching the procedure intently, “It’s that simple?”  
“I wasn’t sure it would work, either.” Sam admitted, as he finally caught the mechanism, “I guess he assumed that no one would think of this. Or he didn’t take it into account because he was so focused on containing powers.”  
He finally opened it, freeing himself, then hurried over to the cage holding Margery and Luda Mae and grabbed the lock, “Let’s see if I can get these off a little faster.” Then he squeezes with all his might, crushing the lock like it was nothing, and threw open the door.  
Margery quickly picked up Luda Mae before moving slowly across the cage, before stepping on foot out, and finally, for the first time in five years, touching the ground outside the cage.  
The two found a place to hide Luda Mae in the back of the margarine. “Stay here until Mommy or this nice man comes to get you.” Margery instructed before going off with Sam and freeing the others.  
Sam procced to break the lock of every single cage while Margery gathered them together and tried to keep them under control. Some jumped out right away without having to be told, others just stared, like they didn’t know what to do with the offer of freedom, others still backed away in fear. Some even go violent. The effects of their captivity seemed to have a wide, varying range.  
After Margery got the crowd reasonably under control considering the circumstances, they all looked at Sam. Okay, He thought, so we’re doing this again. “Look, all of us has something in common.” He began, “All of us want out of here. The one problem is, there are literally no openings to get out of.” Seeing the mob start to stir he quickly added, “However, there is one person who can get in and out of here freely. Magnus, the man who put us in this place. Now, there are – “He started to count but then eventually said, “A lot of us, and one of him. Now, if we join forces, we can force him to give us a way out, so-if you would follow he.”  
To his surprise, the monsters followed out of the zoo.  
Meanwhile, Dean and Hael digging through the file box on Magnus as he waited for the others to arrive.   
“Here’s something.” Hael spoke up, “Apparently, he wanted to make the entire Men of Letters Bunker invisible. All physical points of entry were to be eliminated, ‘and entrance would only be gained by spell.’ Oh. We’re gonna need some things. You might want to call the others and see if someone can turn back.”  
Back in the fortress Sam was leading the band of monsters down the hall. “Where are we going?” Margery whispered in his ear.  
“I’m not sure.” Sam admitted, “But Magnus has got to be around here somewhere.”  
They past a set of doors that looked like they belonged to some kind of operating theater, then Sam remembered what Magnus had said about preparing an examination room. “This way.”  
Sam burst through the door to find Magnus laying out some tools on a table. Tools Sam figured were meant for him.  
Magnus looked up at the noise and saw the angry mob that had gathered. “Oh.” He said, trying to remain composed, “This is going to be interesting.”  
Outside, the Calvary had arrived and Dean was mixing ingredients into a bowel. “Okay,” He was saying, as he was finishing up, “There’s more of us then there are of him, but this guy’s been gathering weapons and spell for years and he’s got monsters he’s not afraid to lose, so everyone stay close. And if it’s not Sam, we kill it.” He then held the bowel out and began, “Ingressum domi dona mihi.”  
A smoky door rose from the ground, and the group charged through, ending up in the same hallway Sam and Dean have arrived in.  
“Do you know which way he took you?” Dean whispered to Hael, who was at the front with him, “That’s probably where he took Sam.”  
“I was pretty out of it, but…” Hael began before they heard a commotion coming from the right, “I’m guessing he’s probably that way.”  
“Yeah, that’s probably a good call.” Dean said, leading the others that way.  
In the examination room, a lively battle had ensued, Magnus throwing off every spell could think of, causing several of the monster to crash, attack each other, lose their will and in some cases just die. The monsters however, were getting their fair share of kicks and hits in, and the sorcerer was now tattered and bleeding.  
Just then Dean, with a small army of angels and assorted humans burst in. Realizing what was going on, he quickly said, “Okay, you know how I said kill anything that wasn’t Sam?”  
There was a series of nods.  
“Well, change of plans.” Dean continued, “Now, just killed the guy they’re all trying to kill.”  
The two groups merged into one giant group, and Dean found his brother at the front. “This is starting to be a habit for you.” He said, pulling out a gun, “Forming monster armies, I mean.”  
“I’ll try to break it later.” Sam said, pushing one of the monsters Magnus had mind-controlled out of the way.  
Magnus got a spell off, causing a werewolf to fall. However, he fell forwards, taking Magnus down with him.  
At that same time, Margery noticed his fall, and an angel blade on the ground. She picked it up and charged her captor before he could recover, stabbing him in the neck before he knew what hit him. She kept stabbing and stabbing into his head hung loosely, almost detached from his body.  
One she realized what she had done, she stood up, clutching the blade in her hand, staring in shock.  
Seeing what had happened, Sam hurried over and grabbed a hold of her, gently calling her name. “Margery? Margery. Hey, it’s over. He’s dead. You did it, You’re free.”  
When Margery didn’t respond, Sam started to get more urgent. “Drop the blade, Margery. “The Kitsune showed no indication that she heard him. “Margery! Drop the blade.”  
Suddenly she let go, dropping the blade to the ground. Her whole body started to shake.  
“It’s okay.” Sam said, drawing her close, “It’s okay. You did what you had to do. You’re free, Luda’s free.”  
“Can we- “Margery began, “Can we go get her now?”  
“Yeah,” Sam replied, “Of course we can.” Turning to Dean, who had come over to them, Sam asked, “Can you handle everyone for a minute? I got promises to keep.”  
“Sure.” Dean said, looking out at the crowd and regretting the moment he said it, feeling in way over his head.  
Sam and Margery however, were already out the door, taking her to her daughter.


	49. When You Don't Expect To Be Right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In rich, making out in the right place at the right time leads to startling discovery.

Two days later, Sam found himself back in the fortress, along with over a dozen angels, and the monsters that wanted to stay, taking the place down to studs.  
Hannah walked up to him, holding of all things, the jaw bone of some kind of animal.  
“What’s this?” Sam asked, taking it and looking it over.  
“Well, we’re not entirely sure, sir.” Hannah replied, shifting nervously, “But we think it’s the Frist Blade.”  
“And the Frist Blade would be…” Sam began.  
“The weapon Cain used to kill Abel.” Hannah finished.  
“Of course.” Sam responded flatly, “Do you know how it works if it is what you think it is?”  
“That’s the problem.” Hannah admitted, “From what we understand Cain is the only person who can use it, and since we have no idea where he is and even if we did he probably wouldn’t be inclined to work with us…”  
“It’s basically useless.” Sam finished for her.  
“I’m sorry, sir.” Hannah as meekly, as if she was afraid she’d be in trouble for bringing a dead end, “What should we do with it?”  
“Catalogue with the rest.” Sam ordered, “And Hannah?”  
“It’s just Sam, alright?” He said, “You don’t have to call me, sir.”  
“Alright, si-Sam.” She corrected herself before going off.  
“So exactly what are we looking for here?” A voice said from behind Sam. He turned around to see Dean standing behind him.  
“I’m not sure.” Sam admitted, “But this is the motherload of supernatural artifacts outside the bunker. Not combing through for anything we could use against Metatron, or dealing with the other angels would be a serve oversight.”  
“I suppose you’re right.” Dean relented, then holding up a skull he found, said, “I just came to tell you that apparently unicorns were at one point real.”  
Meanwhile, Kevin and Hael were back at the bunker delivering some of the items they had already gone through, which also gave them some time alone.  
They set the boxes down, then Hael slowly walked over to Kevin who opened his arms to hold her as she started to sob. “It’s alright.” He soothed, “It’s alright. You’re safe now. You’re home. They can’t hurt you.”  
“I’m sorry.” Hael managed between sobs, “I don’t know why I’m acting this way.”  
“How about because you were kidnapped by a maniac and sold to a sociopath.” Kevin suggested, “You must’ve been so scared.” He ran his fingers through her hair.  
“I was.” Hael admitted before looking up at him, “I didn’t know what was going to happen, what he was going to do me.” After a moment she added, “I thought I’d never see you again.”  
Their lips slowly moved together until they met in a passionate kiss. They kissed repeatedly, each one getting more intense, until there was noise from the other room. “What’s that?” Hael asked, breaking the kiss to look in the direction the sound was coming from.  
“It’s just Dean’s police scanner.” Kevin said, pulling her back in, “Nothing to worry about.” Them he heard something that got his attention.  
Five minutes later, Kevin called Dean who went and got Sam, who was looking over some sort of ornate dagger. “We might have a problem.” He whispered, “Can I see you in private for a second?”  
“Ah, sure.” Sam said, awkwardly before turning back to the angel had been talking to, “Just put it with the others, okay?”  
“Yes, Sam.” The angel said, walking off and Dean whisked Sam away. “Dean, where’s the fire?” Sam asked.  
“Okay, so, Kevin and Hael were dropping some of the loot off at the bunker when my police scanner starts going off.” Dean began.  
“Uh-Hun,” Sam responded, wondering where this was going.  
“And get this,” Dean continued, “The transmission was coming all the way from Wisconsin.”  
“Okay.” Sam said slowly, “I admit, that’ weird.”  
“I’m not finished yet.” Dean responded, “It was John Doe report, and John Doe, actually sounded a lot like Garth.”  
“Garth?!” Sam repeated, his voice slightly raised in surprised, “He’s alive?”  
“Only one way to find out.” Dean replied, “We go down there and see what’s what.”  
Sam looked around. “Uh, Dean,” He began, “Now’s not the best time. Um, I’m kind of in the middle of something.”  
“Well, hand it over to Cas or Muriel.” Dean suggested.  
“I can’t do that right now.” Sam replied, “Not after everything that’s just happened, especially on such a flimsy lead. Plus, I have somethings I have to take care of myself.”  
Just then another angel came up to them carrying a crate. “I think, I, um, found what you were looking for.” He declared.  
Sam reached into the crate, pulling out a brain in a jar. “Thanks.” He replied,” I’ll take it from here.” He took crate from the angel.  
“Oh, right,” Dean mused, as the angel walked away, “Your new monster sugar baby.”  
“She’s not my sugar baby.” Sam protested, “I just got Margery the apartment to help her out. She was locked in this place for half a decade, Dean. Anyone she would’ve gone to help probably thinks she’s dead.” Raising the box, he added, “And this could feed her and Luda Mae for months.”   
“Um-hum.” Dean mused septicity.  
“Look, how about a compromise?” Sam suggested, “You go and see if it’s him, and if it is you tag me in?”  
“Alright.” Dean reluctantly agreed, “But only if you make sure ‘Margery’ doesn’t eat anyone. And something better come out of all this.”  
“I’ll try my best on both fronts.” Sam agreed.  
And so, Dean drove to Grantsbrug, his first stop being Grantsbrug Memorial Hospital.   
When he arrived, he was dressed in fed suit and flashed a bag to receptionist. “Afternoon.” He said as he did so, “I’m looking for a John Doe that was admitted here a few days ago. He’s a, uh…skinny…Ichabod Crane-looking kind of guy.”  
“I know just who you mean.” The woman said, “Room 113, agent.”  
He walked to the room and found Garth Fitzgerald, handcuffed to a hospital bed.  
“Wow.” Dean said aloud to himself, “I was actually right.” Then he picked up the phone and called Sam.


	50. Fresh Meat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys find Garth and make several unexpected discoveries.

Sam was leaving Margery’s apartment complex when he got a call. “Hey, Dean.” He said, when he picked up.  
“It’s him.” Dean said first thing.  
“What?” Sam said, surprised. He didn’t think it would actually be Garth. “Really?”  
“Yes.” Dean replied, a bit tense, “I’m looking at him right now.”  
“And what does he have to say for himself?” Sam asked, as now that he knew he wasn’t dead, he was more than a bit ticked off at the guy for over a year of radio silence.  
“Nothing.” Dean said, “Assload of painkillers. He’s been out since I got here. I was waiting until you got here to wake him up. “  
“Yeah, just let me call Cas to let him know what’s going on.” Sam promised, “That is, if you think he’s up to it, given what we just learned.”  
“One disaster at a time, Sammy.” Dean replied, “We’re in room 113 when you’re ready.”  
Sam called Castiel to inform him of what was going on, then flew to hospital to find an unconscious Garth cuffed to the bed. “What’s he being charged with?”  
“Killing a cow.” Dean answered.  
That threw Sam. “Why?”  
“I was about see if I could find out.” Dean replied, “Lock the door.”  
Sam moved to lock the door, but saw the syringe Dean pulled from behind his back, causing him to rush back and grab his wrist to stop him. “Whoa.” He said, “Hey. What is that? Adrenaline?”  
“Yes, sir.” Dean answered, not seeing the problem.  
“You trying to jump-start him or kill him?” Sam questioned.  
“I want some answers.” Dean declared, “He walked out on Kevin. He walked out on us. So, if you got a better idea…”  
Sam sighed then slapped Garth full in the face. Garth shot up, now awake, screaming. “Aah!” He screamed, looking around, fully confused, “Aah! Aah! Dean? Sam? What is this? A hospital? Wait. Am I in Heaven?”  
“All right, take it easy.” Dean eased, “You’re in Wisconsin.”  
“You were hit by a car.” Sam explained, “Do you remember anything?”  
Garth groaned. “I, uh…Vaguely. “He pulled his hand up to hold his head but was stopped by the handcuff, “What’s with the hardware?”  
Sam unlocked and remove the cuffs while Dean said, “You tell us. And while you’re at it, why don’t you give us the lowdown on why you went AWOL for the last six months? Only way we tracked you down is that you offed a cow.”  
“Offed a…what?” Garth responded, I—I—I was on a hunt.”  
“Hunt for what?” Sam asked.  
“I—oh, no.” Garth said, turning green and looking like he was going to throw up, “Oh, get back. Ohh. Oh, God.” In a panic, he pulled on the monitors and the IV off, jumped out of the bed and rushed to the bathroom; shutting the door behind him. The boys could hear gagging and retching.  
“Good thing I didn’t give him the adrenaline.” Dean declared.  
The boys waited with Garth vomiting and coughing in the bathroom. After a while the silence became deafening so they started making small talk.  
“So,” Dean began, “You find anything that could help take down Metatron?”  
“Actually, uh, yeah.” Sam replied, “It turns out that Magnus had hold section deacated to angel-killing artifacts.”  
“A whole section?” Dean repeated.  
“He had a couple like it for different creatures.” Sam explained, “I guess in case his specimens got restless.”  
“Hmm.” Dean mused, chuckling a little.  
“What?” Sam asked.  
“That didn’t do him much good, did it?” Dean pointed out.  
“I suppose it didn’t.” Sam replied.  
There was more retching and coughing from the bathroom.  
“Just breathe, Garth!” Dean called out, “Work it out.”  
There was silence again then Sam asked, “Have you been able to talk to Hael since this all happened? Get a feel on how she’s doing?”  
“No.” Dean admitted, “But she seems to be holding together. I mean, she was the one who found the spell we needed to get to you.”  
“Still, one of us should check on her.” Sam replied, “She’s been through a lot, Dean.”  
“She’s an angel, Sam.” Dean reminded him, “They don’t really do trauma.”  
“Well, there have been a lot of angels doing trauma lately.” Sam pointed out and a toilet flushed in the bathroom.  
“Okay, we’ll check on her when we get back.” Dean relented, “Then we’ll check on Cas, and we’ll probably need to check on your…on Margery. Did you get those brains to her, by the way?”  
“Yeah, I gave her a portion just before you called.” Sam answered, “The rest are in our fridge. She’s invited us both over for dinner.”  
“She does realize we’re not cannibals, right?” Dean replied,” Well, with you I guess it technically wouldn’t be cannibalism any more, but still- “  
“She said she’d do a small thing of chicken or something.” Sam cut him off.  
“Okay, well, is she aware that you a actually-you know, eat anymore?” Dean asked.  
“Well, I can still eat just to be polite.” Sam pointed out.  
Suddenly they realized there were no more sounds coming from the bathroom.  
“Garth?” Sam called out.  
“What?” Dean added.  
When they got no response, they rushed into the bathroom. Garth was nowhere to be found and the window was wide open.  
“Son of a bitch.” Dean cursed.  
The brothers quickly exited the hospital, looking for any signs of Garth in the parking lot.  
“Why would Garth run from us?” Dean wondered aloud.  
“Why haven’t we heard from him for the last six months?” Sam countered, “Did you test him?”  
“He was unconscious.” Dean reminded him, “No, I—he steal a car?” He thought one might be missing.  
Sam noticed a pair of boxers on the ground. “Did he…” He began, carefully picking up the underwear, “steal a car naked?” With Garth, anything was possible.  
Dean tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to the roof. “I’ll see what I can find on those cameras. Why don’t you go talk to Farmer Brown, see about that cow?”  
“Yeah.” Sam agreed.  
When Sam arrived Farmer Brown was preparing to fix a fence, so as not to impede his work, Sam stood by, asking his questions.  
“Last week, it was a couple of chickens.” The farmer was saying as he worked on the short fence, “Goat the week before that. So, when I saw that boy tearing out of my barn, Hell yeah, I was gonna ask questions later.”  
“Now, the animals—were they all killed in the same manner?” Sam asked.  
“More like sacrificed.” Brown replied.  
That got Sam’s attention. “What do you mean by that?”  
“Their organs was ripped clean out.” Brown answered.  
“Only the organs?” Sam asked.  
“If this wasn’t some kind of devil-worship thing, I don’t know what.” Brown deduced.  
“Mm.” Sam responded, “Well, thanks.”  
Back at the hospital, Dean was walking out of it with several papers and photos in his hand when he cellphone rang. He picked it up. “Yeah.”  
“So, the cow wasn’t just killed.” Sam recapped on the phone, “It was eviscerated.”  
“Well, why was Garth there?” Dean asked.  
“He said he was on a hunt, right?” Sam reminded him, “Maybe he was hunting whatever killed it.”  
“Why would he run?” Dean countered, “This whole thing’s starting to stink. You know that, right?”  
“Yeah.” Sam agreed, “What about you? Any luck?”  
“Actually, I got the make, model, and license plate number of the car he stole.” Dean bragged.  
Suddenly Sam appeared in front of him. “And you didn’t think to lead with that?”  
“Well, you seemed so excited about your-eviscerated cow.” Dean tried, then changed the subject, “Anyway, ride belongs to a girl named Bess Meyers. She lives in the next town over.”  
They traveled to Bess Meyers house, prepared for the worst. Which was why they kicked down the door, finding a shocked Garth, who had been talking to someone they couldn’t see before.  
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Garth exclaimed, trying to defuse the situation, “Whoa, Whoa! Hey guys. I can explain. Everything’s cool. Just a simple misunderstanding.”  
“Who you talking to?” Dean asked.  
“What?” Garth responded, playing dumb.  
“The girl?” Dean guested.  
“What—what girl?” Garth denied, “What the— “  
Dean pointedly grabbed a bra from the table and held it up.  
“What now?” Garth asked in surrender.  
Dean motioned Sam to the right, and he went left. They swiftly cleared the room, finding no one.  
“All right, all right.” Garth urged, trying to salvage the situation, “Guys, everyone needs to take a chill pill and put their guns down. Let’s all be grown-up here and have an adult conversation.”  
However, all hope of that disappeared when suddenly a blonde female werewolf, leap from the closet, attacking Sam. Dean tried to get a shot when Garth tackled the gun away from him, screaming, “No!” The he left between Sam and the she-werewolf as Sam nicked her with a sliver knife and the wound burned. “Sam! Sam, please—don’t hurt her.”  
“What are you doing?!” Dean demanded, “She’s a werewolf!”  
Garth’s response left them stunned. “So am I.”  
Garth and the she-werewolf sat down on the couch as Garth tended to her arm, Sam and Dean staring at them in confusion.  
“It’s okay, baby.” He soothed, helping her put pressure on the wound, “Hold it like that.”  
“What are they doing here, Garth?” The she-werewolf whispered, understandably frightened.  
“They’re friends.” Garth assured her, “I promised.”  
“They’re hunters.” The she-werewolf pointed out.  
“All right.” Garth began, “We’ve all gotten off on the wrong foot here. So, let’s do things right. Boys…this is Bess…” He found over the she-werewolf, “My beloved. And Bess, that’s Dean.” He pointed at the man in question, “Now, he could start a fight in an empty house, but deep down inside, he’s just a big ol’ Teddy bear.”  
Dean looked annoyed and Sam chuckled.  
Garth continued, “And Sam here- Sam can be a bit insecure at times.”  
Sam glared at him. He was not insecure. Well, not that insecure.  
“But for good reason.” Garth finished, “Bless his heart.”  
“That’s sweet.” Dean snarked, wanting to get back to Garth’s earlier claim, “Werewolf?”  
“All right, guys, look—about six months ago, I was outside Portland, Maine, hunting this big bad wolf.” Garth explained, “I took him down, but…He bit me in the process.”  
“And you didn’t call one of us?” Dean asked.  
“And tell you what?” Garth countered, “That I messed up? No, I-I knew the deal. There’s no cure, so I accepted my fate. Ate my favorite dish of Egg Fu Young, watched the world’s greatest movie, Rocky III, and then…was ready to eat a bullet, when Bess here found me.”  
“And how’d she does that?” Sam asked, somewhat genuinely curious.  
“Smelled him.” Bess spoke up, “How else?”  
“Yeah.” Garth said, “She talked the gun out my mouth, and, as they say, the rest is history. We’ve been married for four months now.”  
“You’re married?” Sam asked, surprised.  
“To a werewolf.” Dean added.  
“Yes.” Bess confirmed, “And my pack has taken him in as one of our own.”  
“Guys, it’s not what you think.” Garth added in quickly, “We don’t hurt people.”  
“No, you just go all Wolverine on cattle.” Dean guessed.  
“Yeah.” Garth answered.  
“As least he’s not eating human hearts.” Bess pretested, feeling their judgement, “Do you have any idea how hard it is for a bitten to control his instincts, like Garth does? How well he’s doing?”  
“Thank you, baby.” Garth replied.  
“Well, it’s the truth, honey bunny.” Bess responded.  
“Wait.” Sam cut in, “A—a ‘bitten’? You’re all bitten.”  
“Not at all.” Bess informed them, “You’re either born to it, like I was, or you’re bitten, like Garth.”  
“Hold on.” Dean said, as this challenged everything, he knew about werewolf reproduction, “You said you were—you were born a werewolf?”  
“Second generation.” Bess elaborated.  
Dean turned his attention back to Garth. “Garth, can we talk to you for a sec? Alone?”  
Garth first addressed Bess. “Honey, why don’t you go find some ointment for that arm? Okay?”  
Bess nodded and then left the room.  
Once she was gone, the first thing out of Dean’s mouth was, “What the Hell?”  
“Look, I know you guys want to shoot first and ask questions later, but I checked everything out.” Garth assured them, “This pack is clean. Everything’s Kosher.”  
“Right.” Sam replied skeptically, “Uh, minus the part where your wife attacked me.”  
“Yeah, because you two came busting in here like a house on fire.” Garth pointed out, “Guns waving, the jawlines and the hair—it’s very intimidating! What’s you expect? Dean, no one wants any trouble. You got my word on that.”  
“Oh, no.” Dean responded, “That ship had sailed. We’re gonna need a Hell of a lot more than your word.” Given everything that was going on, he might have been a bit more open-minded had he not kept it from them and for so long at that.  
“Well, maybe we should give him the benefit of the doubt.” Sam spoke up, “I mean, he is a werewolf now, so maybe that gives him a better gage on good and bad werewolves.”  
“Did becoming an angel give you insight into good and bad angels?” Dean argued.  
“Whoa, whoa, hold up.” Garth cut in, “Did you just say Sam’s an angel?”  
“Yeah,” Sam replied awkwardly, “It’s a long story.”  
“You mean, you’ve been ripping into me over this werewolf thing when Sam’s sitting over there an angel?” Garth pointed out, gesturing to the creature in question.  
“Well, he didn’t go radio silent for over a year.” Dean reminded him.  
“Okay, good point.” Garth conceded, “So, can I see?”  
They were silent for a moment, Sam shifting awkwardly. “See what?”  
“Well, if you’re an angel, you got to have wings, right?” Garth elaborated, “So can I see them? Is that okay?”  
Sam sighed, then stood up. He took a step back, then spread his wings, sending shadows across the room. Seeing that he was in the shadow of his brother’s wings, Dean stood up and walked out of range.  
“Whoa.” Garth gapped, clearing an awe.  
“Yeah, it’s amazing.” Dean snarked, “Now back to this pack.”  
“Okay.” Garth said, realizing this was not going away, “Okay. Tell you what. You want proof? Come pray with us.”  
Dean and Sam exchanged confused looks.  
Later, Dean parked the Impala in front of nice-looking house and got out. He walked back to the trunk as the phone rang. I was Sam, who was at the police station.  
“You there?” Sam asked.  
“Yeah, just pulled up.” Dean replied, grabbing a sliver knife from the back “Nothing too sketchy yet.”  
“That’s a good thing, right?” Sam responded.  
“Not betting on it.” Dean declared, walking up to the house.   
“Or are we just that jaded?” Sam suggested, “I mean, maybe’s Garth’s right.”  
“Well, ain’t you a glass half-full.” Dean commented, “Any luck with the cops?”  
“Uh, sheriff should be rolling up any second.” Sam answered, “Be careful.”  
“Yeah.” Dean agreed. He hung up and approached the house. He walked up the stairs and knocked on the front the door.  
It opened, revealing an older woman with faded blonde hair. “You must be Dean.” The woman said, “I’m Joy, Garth’s mother-in-law. Uh, stepmother-in-law, which I always thought sounded so silly. Please come in. We’re just finishing up.”  
Inside, Dean thought he could here…singing?  
“Why don’t you just tell Garth I’m here.” Dean requested, looking greatly uncomfortable and on edge. Which he was.  
“Dean, you have my word-you’re safe under my roof.” Joy assured him, “I only ask the same in return. After all…I’m not the one carrying sliver.”  
Dean slowly entered and walked to the doorway of the living room, still feeling and looking very uncomfortable.  
Joy rejoined the group in the room and in their singing, “Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves, we shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves. Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves, we shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves. Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves, we shall come rejoicing bringing in the sheaves.  
Garth, who was at the piano, played an off-key conclusion and Dean couldn’t help but chuckle lightly.  
“Uh…” The group leader, an older man with short clipped grey hair began, “Thank you, brother Garth. Wonderful accompaniment, as usual. And I’ll see the rest of you in the pews-9:00 A. M., sharp. No stragglers…sister Amelia.”  
The was laughter from the group and they began to walk off, Garth joining Dean in the doorway. “Oh.” He began, “Hi. So, what’d I tell you? It’s all good, right?”  
“Everyone here’s a werewolf?” Dean asked in a low tone.  
“Yeah.” Garth answered.  
“Yeah, not all good.” Dean replied.  
“Oh, come on, Dean.” Garth urged, “You just got to meet them.” He then pointed out two men. “That’s Russ and Joba, Bess; cusions on sister Joy’s side.”  
Russ and Joba waved.  
Garth pointed out the group leader. “That’s Reverend Jim, Bess’ dad-leader of the pack and a good man.”  
“ ‘Dean’, isn’t it?” Reverend Jim spoke up, walking over to them, “Welcome.” He extended his hand to Dean, “Jim Meyers. Folks usually call me…”  
“Reverend Jim.” Dean cut him off, “Yeah, I got it.”  
“Oh.” Garth chuckled uncomfortably, “Uh, my bad. Dean’s got this crazy fear of germs.”  
“I understand your apprehension, Dean.” Reverend Jim said, “Hunters and our kind don’t have the best history together.”  
Joy walked over and stood by her husband. “But I think you’ll find we’re not much different from you.”  
“Oh, sister, I highly doubt it.” Dean responded.  
“Why don’t we break bread and see?” Reverend Jim suggested.  
Man, they’re not letting up. Dean thought, then again, I’ll be having dinner with Kitsune sometime in the future apparently so- “What the Hell?” He said out loud.  
Apparently, he didn’t sound very convincing, as they sighed and headed to the dinner room.   
Garth was shocked at his friend’s rudeness. “Dean!”  
“What?” Dean responded.  
A short time later they were all seated at the table, Joy dishing out raw animal organs to everybody except for Dean, who had an overcooked sake, corn on the cob, and brunt biscuit. There was more corn in biscuits in the center of the table that no one was partaking of, opening the possibility that they were just in case he wanted more helpings. That made him feel a little bad, but then they started digging into the meat and he felt more than a little queasy, looking almost sick.  
“Now, everybody eat up.” Joy instructed, “But make sure to leave room for pie.”  
“Sister Joy’s pies are famous throughout the badger state.” Reverend Jim bragged on his wife.  
“Mm.” Garth uttered in-between bites, “Dean loves pie.”  
Dean glared daggers at Garth for even mentioning the fact. (Something he would later admit was a bit of an over-reaction.) He continued to watch the people around the table hungrily enjoying the raw meat. He continued to get, and look more sick and uncomfortable by the second. “Don’t you guys say some sort of Grace or something?”  
“We’re more spiritual than religious.” Reverend Jim explained, “We believe, much like the American Indians did, that nature and man are one.”  
“Yeah, really worked out well for them.” Dean quipped.  
Garth glared at him and Dean tried a different tactic after noticing a silver bullet around each and every person’s neck. “So, why are a bunch of Werewolves wearing silver bullets around their necks.  
There was a moment of awkward silence and then Garth coughed before saying, “Sorry, Dean, but we don’t use the ‘W’ word around here. We prefer the term ‘lycanthrope’.”  
“‘We?’” Dean aske pointedly. You are aware you killed one just last year?  
“He’s entitled to his opinion, Garth.” Revert Jim said.  
It was then Bess spoke up. “Many of our kind see themselves as indestructible. This is a constant reminder of how precious our lives truly are.”  
“Yeah, but it’s sliver.” Dean insisted, “I mean, doesn’t it burn?”  
“Yeah, it does a bit, but that’s kind of the point.” Garth explained, “It reminds us of our fragility.”  
“My daughter, Bess, was born a lycanthrope.” Reverend Jim began, “It was one of the proudest days of my life.” He looked at his daughter fondly, then inhaled deeply as the tale took a darker turn, “Which soon turned tragic…When a hunter killed my wife. Believe me when I tell you, I wanted to make someone pay. Then I looked at Bess, and I realized the road to revenge is a dark and lonely one, which you never get off. And that whole in the pit of your stomach, you will never fill it—ever.”  
“Hey, no, I get it.” Dean replied, actually getting it somewhat.  
“So, I chose to look forward, not backwards.” Reverend Jim continued, “And the minute I did that, the powers that be brought this beautiful, compassionate, amazing woman into my life. “He smiled at Joy. “And helped me raise a little baby girl as if Bess were her own.”  
“I can’t take all the credit.” Joy informed him, “Daddy had a hand in it, too. He saw your protentional.”  
That got Dean’s attention. “Daddy?”  
“My father-bless his soul-was the previous reverend of our church, the third generation in our family to serve.” Joy explained proudly.  
“So, you’re fourth-generation werewolf?” Dean concluded.  
“Yes.” Joy answered.  
Meanwhile at the police station, Sam was talking to the Sheriff.  
“Look, the good Reverend Jim and his family are all a little new-age hippy-dippy like, but they’re clean as a whistle and pillars of our community. Why is the FBI even interested in them?”  
“I just go where they send me, Sheriff.” Sam replied, as that was a rather good question, “Truth be told, I’m more interested in, uh…murders and X-files-y stuff. Anything of that variety around here?”  
The sheriff chuckled. “No, sir. We’re just a small town. Not much crime of any to speak of. I’m sorry, agent. I wish I could help more.”  
“Ah, that’s all right.” Sam assured him, “But if you do think of something, give me a call.”  
“Will do.” The sheriff replied.  
Back at Reverend Jim’s dinner had ended, and Dean was taking a peak in the refrigerator, where he found more platters of meat. Hearing people, behind him, he turned around and found Russ and Joba staring at him. “Still hungry?” Russ asked, well, at least Dean thought it was Russ.  
The moved in threateningly, pinning Dean in the corner. Dean, not one to be intimidated, kept his gaze steady.  
“The sooner you realize that all is good here, the sooner you can go.” Russ told him.  
“Don’t you two have a chew toy or something to go play with?” Dean replied evenly.  
Just then Garth came into the room. “Hey, guys. You mind if I grab a second with Dean, here?”  
Russ and Joba left and Dean and Garth moved to the kitchen window. “Why are you being so hard on everyone?”  
“Because there’s no way all of this is what it looks like.” Dean insisted, “No way.”  
“Why not?” Garth challenged, as Dean hadn’t presented any concreate evidence.  
“Come on, man.” Dean responded, “I know you drank the Kool-Aid, okay? But come on.”  
“Look, amigo…I know this all looks nuts, but I find it.” Garth said, “Love and a family? Who cares where that comes from?”  
“I do.” Dean answered.  
“I get it.” Gath continued, trying to make Dean understand, “When I first got here, I couldn’t let go, either. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. But when it didn’t, I had to accept the truth.”  
“Well, I got another truth for you—we were in the dark when you went AWOL.” Dean seethed, as that was part of this that really enraged him, “I didn’t know whether you were dead, or worse. You should have reached out and sent someone a message.”  
“And said what, Dean?” Garth argued, “That I was a werewolf? I was embarrassed. I thought it was best for everyone if I just stayed away. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t think about and miss you and Sam…Kevin?” After a moment, he added, “How is he by the way?”  
“It was a little touch and go there for a while.” Dean admitted, his demeanor softening a bit, “He went half-crazy, we thought a demon killed him mom for a while, but it turned out it didn’t and we got her back for him. He’s actually doing pretty good all things considered, got a girlfriend and everything.”  
“Girlfriend?” Garth repeated, intrigued.  
“It’s a long story.” Dean replied, “They don’t want anyone to know about it yet, so all act like it’s not painfully obvious. She’s a good kid, a real trooper, an angel on Earth, you might say.”   
“Wow, wish I could meet her.” Garth admitted.  
“Maybe you can after all this is over.” Dean said, “If you pick up the phone every once and a while.”  
That night Sam and Dean met at the Impala behind Reverend Jim’s house. While Dean was still skeptical, Sam thought his brother might be grasping at straws.  
“Okay, Dean, they gave you lunch, they gave you pie.” Sam recapped, “Why are we still here?”  
“Uh, yeah, you’re right.” Dean admitted, “But something still doesn’t smell right to me.” He paused for a moment, briefly closing his eyes, then opening them added, “Probably not the best phrase to use in this situation.”  
“Look, I’m just saying, this wouldn’t be the first time we came across a friendly monster.” Sam pointed out, “Or a-a family of friendly monsters—whatever this is.”  
Just then, Sam’s phone rang. He answered it, saying, “Agent Perry.” After a moment he added, “Sheriff.”  
Dean watched his brother as Sam added, “How can I help you?” After a moment he added, “Really?” While motioning for them to hit the road, “Okay.”  
Five minutes later the Impala rolled up to the side of a field where the sheriff was standing looking at a gutted deer. The Winchesters got up and walked out.  
“Well, you wanted weird, agent.” The sheriff reminded Sam, “You tell me what tore up that deer. Nothing that runs in these parts.”  
Dean and Sam walked over to the and squatted down to take a closer look, their back to the sheriff.  
“Fresh blood.” Dean noted.  
“Yes, it is.” The sheriff agreed, taking his hand out of his pocket. The nails grew long and he turned into a werewolf.


	51. Botched Apocalypse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam prevents the werewolf Apocalypse in a very anti-climatic way.

Dean immediately realized a problem with the corpse. “Still warm.” He said quietly to Sam, “That means it died after we got the call.” Which in turn, meant they were being set up.  
Sam put it together and swung around as Dean pulled a sliver knife out and his jeans but kept it behind his back as the sheriff, still-wolfed out, already had a gun on them.  
“Couldn’t just accept that all was good here and move on, could you?” The sheriff seethed, “You have no idea what you’ve walked into, do you? No matter. You won’t be walking out.” He went to fire his weapon, but Dean was faster, throwing a sliver knife into the sheriff’s chest. The sheriff fell to the ground, dead.   
The boys quickly moved to the body and Dean removed the knife. Sam noticed a sliver bullet around the werewolf’s neck and yanked it off. “Hey, look at this.”  
Dean did. “I’ve seen that before. Yeah, that is a favorite accessory of the good reverend and his flock.”  
Sam saw a word etched in the bullet and read it aloud, “Ragnarok?”  
“Yeah, that’s, uh, Thor, Loki, Odin stuff, right?” Dean asked.  
“Yeah, it’s Norse’s mythology’s end of days.” Sam confirmed, “But why is it etched into a bullet?”  
“Who cares?” Dean responded, “We got all the answers we need.”  
“I don’t know, Dean.” Sam countered, “I think we need more.”  
“Oh, what?” Dean retorted, “Sheriff Andy Taylor here wasn’t good enough for you?”  
“Enough to kill Garth?” Sam remined him what was at stake, “Come on, man. Let’s do this right.”  
“All right, fine.” Dean relented, “Clean this up, grab Garth, lock him up until we figure out what’s what. I’m gonna go check out that church.”  
The Impala pulled up to a white church and Dean entered the sanctuary. He walked down the line between the pews, shining his flashlight on everything. He came to the door or Reverend Jim’s office picked the lock and entered.  
Meanwhile, Sam landed in front of the door of Garth’s apartment. He rattled the handle only to find it locked, so he took off again landing in the apartment itself, and to his horror, found it wrecked, as if some sort of fight had taken place.  
“Garth?” Sam called out, beginning to search the apartment.  
Back at the church Dean found a book on Norse mythology in Reverend Jim’s office. He skimmed it until he found a chapter on Ragnarok then turned on the desk lamp and shook the mouse to wake up the computer screen. The monitor had a picture of Garth, Bess, and Reverend Jim.  
Dean rolled his eyes. “Seriously?” He did a search for Ranarok and started reading about it when his phone went off.  
Dean picked it up. “Hey. Did you find the love birds?”  
“No.” Sam answered, “Place is a wreck. No Garth, no Bess.”  
“What, they were taken?” Dean exclaimed, “Well, that’s fan-friggin’-tastic.”  
“Tell me you got something.” Sam replied.  
“Well, this, uh…Ragnarok, end-of-days crap-star of the story if a wolf name Fenris, who kills the god Odin before the world ends.” Dean explained. Or at least he would if Odin wasn’t already dead.  
“Okay.” Sam said, “And that helps us how?”  
“There are cults that consider Fenris a wolf deity and worship him.” Dean explained, “They call themselves a Maw of Fenris.”  
“A cult of werewolves?” Sam repeated, chuckling in spite of the seriousness of their situation, “What do they want?”  
“Well, Ragnarok is not just a Bible story to these nutjobs.” Dean continued, “It’s an action plan—human extinction, complete and total werewolf domination.”  
“And…what?” Sam asked, “This is the-the ground-zero for their movement?”  
“Freakin’ Wisconsin, man.” Dean said, as if their current situation was the state’s fault, “Well, time for Reverend Jim to go down.”  
“Yeah.” Sam finally agreed, “Need any help?”  
“No, no, no, I got it.” Dean assured him, “You just, uh, you find Garth.”  
“All right.” Sam agreed, before hanging up.  
Sam went to leave the apartment when something hit in him the back of the head. He nearly turned to face his attacker when he got an idea. These were probably the same people who attacked Bess and Garth, and if he faked unconsciousness, they might take him to them. So, he fell to the ground.  
Meanwhile, Dean was about to leave the church when he heard a car door shut. Dean hid just in time for Reverend Jim to enter the church.   
Reverend Jim walked up the isle but paused when he smelt a certain hunter. “It’s no use, Dean. I can hear your heartbeat. You’ve done this countless times, yet you still get nervous.”  
Dean stepped out of the shadows with his gun drawn. “Nothing wrong with a little fear. It’s what makes us human.”  
“Fear is not a purely human instinct.” Reverend Jim replied, “Even monsters known fear. I came to work on my sermon.”  
“Well, why don’t you start by preaching to me about the Maw of Fenris?” Dean accused, “Yeah, that’s right. I know all about you and your little pack’s plan.”  
“I assure you, we are planning nothing.” Reverend Jim insisted.  
“No?” Dean responded, “Well, then, why did I read about it in your good book?”  
Reverend Jim sighed. “Because generations ago, that hate and misplaced anger was part of our beliefs. But ever since I took over here, I have eradicated it from our congregation.”  
“Well, apparently some of them didn’t get the word—like the good sheriff, who just tried to off her in my brother.”  
“Sheriff Pat?” Reverend Jim asked, surprised.  
“Let me see your bullet.” Dean demanded, before pulling the silver bullet necklace closer to him. He turned it around only to find no etching on it of any kind. “Where is it?”  
“Where’s what?” Reverend Jim asked, having no clue what Dean was talking about now.  
“‘Ragnarok.’” Dean quoted.  
“What?” Reverend Jim asked, becoming alarmed.  
“It was etched into the sheriff’s bullet.” Dean explained.  
“That’s impossible.” Reverend Jim insisted, “The Maw is dead.”  
“Yeah, well, tell that to Garth and your daughter, who are missing.” Dean informed him.  
That was when it suddenly dawned on them what was really going on. “No.”  
Meanwhile Garth was waking, and felt something wrapped tight around the upper portion of his body. He opened his eyes and realized he was tied with chains, possibly with some sliver mixed in the metal, to a ladder in a barn. He looked up to see Bess tied to wagon wheel, struggling against her chains.  
“Bess?” He asked. What was going on?  
The barn doors opened, revealing Russ and Joba dragging what appeared to be an unconscious Sam. They began to tie him to a tractor when suddenly Sam left to life, pressing his hand into each werewolf’s forehead. A light admitted from his faces and they fell to the ground, their eyes black craters.  
“Sam!” Garth screamed, even more alarmed, then he remembered Sam’s species change. “Was that…divine wrath?”  
“Something that.” Sam said, hurrying over to Garth and ripping his bindings off, “You guys okay?”  
“I think so.” Garth answered as Sam helped him up, “Bess?”  
“I’m fine.” Bess confirmed as Sam repeated the process with her, “What was that?”  
“Well, I just smitted your friends.” Sam explained awkwardly, “Though, in all fairness, they did kidnap you, so…”  
Just then the doors burst opened again, revealing Joy. “What is going on in- “She began, but let out a loud, horrified gasp when she saw her nephews’ corpses on the floor.  
“Mom?” Bess asked, scared and upset, “What’s going on?”  
Joy reached out and slapped Bess full in the face.  
“Hey!” Garth shouted, while Sam grabbed Joy from behind.  
“I’m not your mother!” Joy screamed, “What the Hell did you do to them?!”  
Sam rushed Joy, slamming her against the wall. “The same thing that I’ll do to you if you don’t start talking. Now.”  
Dean was rushing from the church yard, trying to call Sam who wasn’t picking up. “Sam, pick up, dammit!”  
Meanwhile, back in the barn, Sam, Bess and Garth had finished securing Joy to the tractor, with the chains that held them not too long ago.  
“Why did you do all this?” Sam asked, “I mean, me I can understand, but these people are your family, you’re pack.”  
Joy struggled against the restraints, staring at Sam with utter hatred as she began her tale. “Last winter, my little brother Charlie was killed by a hunter.” She inhaled sharply, “My husband consoled patience, restraint. Just as when he took over our beloved church, he preached a new direction— “As she continued it became obvious in her voice that she found his views ridiculous, “Lycanthrope and man would co-exist. Peace was more important that dominance. I tried so hard to make his way work…to be a preacher’s wife. But then…Charlie was murdered. And I couldn’t help remembering my daddy’s sermons. And by golly, he was right. As long as there is man, there can be no peace. Because man destroys. And I, for, am sick of it.” She trashed, kicking and trying to lung out at Sam.  
“I get it now.” Sam said, “Why co-exist when you can rule?”  
“Bingo.” Joy seethed, still trying to get lose, “But my husband doesn’t see it that way. See, he was bitten, not born to it, like I was. He still holds on to his humanity.”  
“But maybe if his daughter and son-and-law were to be murdered by hunters, that might change things.” Sam guessed.  
“My husband turned his cheek once.” Joy said, “I don’t think he could do it again.”  
“So, you would kill your own daughter?” Garth gapped in horrified disbelief.  
“How many times do I have to say this?!” Joy screamed, renewing her trashing, “Stepdaughter! I’m the last of my bloodline thanks to you and your kind out there! And it’s not like I wanted to do it, but Ragnorak-it’s bigger than all of us.”  
“You’re sick.” Bess responded.  
“Garth, would you mind, taking Bess out of here?” Sam instructed, “She’s got gonna want to see what happens next.” Sure, Joy was stopped for now, but she was too dangerous to be left alive.  
“Come on.” Garth said gently, walking her out.  
“Is that really necessary?” Bess protested, knowing what was about to happen.  
“I’m sorry, but she’s too dangerous to let go.” Sam said as Garth exited with Bess.  
As Garth got Bess a safe distance away, Dean came running, and saw them. “Garth!” He called out, “What’s going on?”  
“Short version?” Garth began, “Joy tried to start a cue by framing Sam for our murders but Sam smote her accomplices, and is currently dealing with her.”  
“Oh.” Dean said flatly.  
Dean quickly went to the barn and opened the door, and found Sam standing over Joy’s dead body, her neck hanging limply.  
“Oh.” Dean repeated, “It looks like you already got this taken care of. Should I-should I be worried?”  
“No, I feel bad about this.” Sam replied,” I mean, not like, really, really bad because she was evil, but- “  
“Yeah, I get it.” Dean replied. After a moment he added, “Well, this is a bit anti-climactic.”  
“Yeah.” Sam agreed, “A little.”  
“Need help with the body?” Dean offered.  
“Sure.” Sam said.


End file.
